


In Which We Have the Avengers

by LosttotheHoping, LyraInTheDark



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - Fandom, The Avengers (2012), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Angst, Crack, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2017-12-22 20:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 53
Words: 17,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LosttotheHoping/pseuds/LosttotheHoping, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyraInTheDark/pseuds/LyraInTheDark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avengers drabbles.  Most, admittedly, are pure crack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which A Dare is Taken

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Heat Wave and River
> 
> Yes. This IS what I do on my days off... >.>;
> 
> Also- in case the 'crack' didn't get it across, this is not meant to be taken seriously. At ALL.

Summer in New York was not, admittedly, the worst place to endure it, if you took the rest of the country (and places not in the country) into account.  To New Yorkers, of course, saying this would be tantamount to treason, and you might just get dumped in a pool somewhere for your crimes.  
  
For Tony Stark, whom had grown up in California, the weather was usually not so bad.  However, there was this massive heat wave that had rolled in around noon, sending droves of people to the nearest pools they could find.  
  
This included his fellow Avengers (or at least, the ones in New York, which unfortunately didn’t include Natasha).  So by four PM, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Clint, Peter and Logan were floating around in Avengers Tower’s sole pool, which took up the majority of the floor.  
  
The first comment of the day?  “We need some women.”  
  
Peter snorted.  “Speak for yourself, Logan,” the young man scoffed, stretching out as he drifted along on his back.  
  
“Didn’t I tell you no webbing in the pool?” Tony demanded from the other end, scowling faintly.  “It clogs the drains.   _Every time_.  If you’re going to do that, there are _several_ lakes and rivers within driving distance.  And, you know, _the ocean_.”  
  
Peter rolled over onto his stomach, arched a brow, and smiled.  
  
Bruce snorted.  “Go fish,” he said to Steve.  The two of them had opted out of joining in what Logan had so succinctly termed a ‘sausage fest’ in favor of sitting at the table in the corner of the room (usually used by Pepper or Natasha, admittedly) with a deck of cards.  The room was air conditioned, after all.  
  
“Yeah, that’s what rivers are for,” Tony inserted.  
  
“That was a really _lame_ joke,” Clint said lazily.  
  
“Bite me.”  
  
“Tempting.  But I don’t know where you’ve been.”  
  
“YOWCH!”  
  
Each of the Avengers whipped around to look at Tony as Logan swam away, looking far too smug.  
  
“You BIT me!!!”


	2. In Which Pepper Doesn't Have a Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because we all know Pepper wears the pants in this relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Kicking Rocks
> 
> I have like eight of these drabbles. From two different days. >.>; Yeah. I need that life, please.
> 
> No, you won't find out what happened with the funny foam. Make something up in your head for it.

Later, Pepper was laughing so hard her face was red.  Tony’s face was red for a different reason- mostly because no one was letting him live this one down.  Actually, was Pepper _crying_ now too?  
  
“It’s not that funny!”  He looked to the women that had been out with her shopping, but Jane and Betty snickered and averted their gazes.  
  
Pepper shook her head, hand over her mouth.  “S-so... let me... get this straight...  He _bit_ you... and you decide that’s a declaration of _war_??  Is _that_ why the pool’s half full of webbing?”  
  
“No.  Well, partly, yes.  But no,” Tony huffed, crossing his arms.  “Peter has issues following the rules.”  
  
“What, rules?  You know them?”  
  
“Ha ha.  Funny.  You should be a comedian.”  
  
“I _should_ get a medal for putting up with you.”  
  
“You put up with me because you find me charming, handsome and... what was that other word I read in your diary?  OH, yeah.  ‘Sexy as a god’.”  
  
She rolled her eyes.  “I don’t have a diary, Tony.   _Specifically_ because you’d read it.  Also, that was four words.”  
  
“‘Built like a rock’.”  
  
“I can _kick_ the rock...”  
  
“Well.  Then you wouldn’t get sex, and we all know you’re an addict.”  
  
She swatted his arm.  “Am not!”  
  
A snort drew them out of their argument, and Logan smirked at them.  “He tell you about the funny foam?”


	3. In Which the Window Wouldn't Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having a creep-factor is almost mandatory for being an Avenger... Naturally, Peter has that down pat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Hanging Around
> 
> Actually, I could really go for some iced coffee right now. And possibly a pool. DAMN it's hot. >

“Don’t you have an _apartment_ or something to go back to?” Tony demanded angrily.  
  
Peter had been stalking him through the Tower for most of the day after the “Incident”.  Which was creepy enough on its own, but he was also making sarcastic remarks, and fitting the word ‘bite’ into sentences at inconvenient times.  And it was driving the Iron Man up the wall.  
  
“Peter?  Tony?”  The duo turned to see Betty leaning out of one of the lab doors, brows furrowed in concern.  “Is everything okay?”  
  
Tony opened his mouth, but the younger Avenger grinned and nodded.  “Sure thing, Betty.  Don’t worry, we’re just... hanging around.”  
  
The woman smiled at that, nodded, and withdrew back into the lab with only a murmur.  A beat passed, then, “If throwing you out a window would work, I’d do it.”  
  
“I know.  MJ and I are going out for pizza.  Grab Pepper and come join us,” Peter said, smugly, and walked off.  
  
Tony still couldn’t decide how much that guy annoyed him, even as he pulled out his cell to text his girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It says something that I'm pretty sure Pepper's in the Tower while he's texting her. XD


	4. In Which Taste is Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Women are mysterious. It's just a fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Steak
> 
> I should be finishing my short story. I really should. It's gonna be published in a collection.
> 
> ... I'm gonna post the rest of these instead.

As soon as Pepper and Tony stepped into the pizza place, Mary Jane was scrambling out of her seat and racing over to Pepper.  She threw her arms around the other redhead, who hugged her back, and then dragged her toward the bathroom.  
  
“Why do they always hit the bathroom first thing?” Tony asked, watching them go as Peter stopped beside him.  
  
Peter shrugged.  “Maybe they _really_ gotta go.”  He paused, and grimaced.  “Okay, that’s enough corny jokes.  You’re starting to rub off on me, and it’s _not_ a good thing.”  
  
Snorting, Tony went over to the table, seeing that the other couple had already ordered.  Extra cheese, anchovies on one side, bacon and steak on the other, and the whole thing sprinkled liberally with mushrooms and those toxic things that women called black olives.  
  
Tony took a piece of the anchovies’ side, and chomped down.  “I will admit that your taste in pizza is awesome,” he informed the other male as he flopped down into a seat.  
  
“My taste in _everything_ is awesome, Tony, just admit it.”  Peter grinned as he sank into the opposite booth, glancing toward the bathroom.  
  
“Well.  Pizza and women,” Tony amended magnanimously.  “Pass the parmesan.”  
  
Amused, Peter did as commanded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, again with the 'you're not gonna find out what else happened'. Use your imagination.


	5. In Which There is a Hulk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our resident scientists never really reached maturity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Quintessential
> 
> I have no clever quip right now. >.>;

Normal people, when looking up at Avengers Tower, would think the place was the quintessential picture of heroism.  They would believe it to be perfect, a beacon of the future; the most self-sufficient, state of the art facility in the world.  
  
Because _normal people_ had never been inside, and were clearly unassociated with Avengers Tower’s occupants.  
  
For example, when you get Spiderman, Iron Man, and the Hulk together in a room, it’s like listening to a high-stress debate in another language.  Or a trio of high school boys trying to get laid.  It depended on the mood.  
  
“Tony, I need some hydrochloric acid-”  
  
“What do you need _that_ for?  Don’t you have enough issues with the whole ‘turning into a giant rage monster’ thing?  No, not like that, dammit, Peter.  You have to wait a moment, treat it gently, like an injured lady you’re trying to bring to orgasm-”  
  
“That’s not gentle, shut up, Tony, I don’t want to hear it.  If anyone’s going to correct me, it should be Bruce, because _he’s_ the chemist.”  
  
“Well...  Tony’s right.”  
  
“Not helping, Bruce.”  
  
“Sorry.”  Pause.  “I need it to neutralize a-”  
  
“No- _no_ , not like that!  It’s going to-!”  
  
Twenty minutes later, when Logan managed to get into the destroyed lab, he had to deal with a very protective Hulk hovering over the other two Avengers.  Who were both unconscious and one of them at least was bleeding.


	6. In Which No, He Doesn't Get Super Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper is just THAT GOOD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Moderation
> 
> So one of the authors I read just reviewed my TonyxSteve oneshot this morning. This kind of makes me REALLY happy.

They did eventually manage to get Tony and Peter out of the lab, leaving Logan to taunt and hassle the Hulk into chasing after him toward the Hulk-proof containment room Bruce had insisted upon before moving into the Tower.  
  
Tony was the one that was injured, but it wasn’t bad enough to have to go to the hospital.  In fact, within twenty minutes, despite the butterfly bandage on his forehead, Tony came around.  
  
They knew it immediately.  “Hey.  Peter.”  
  
There was a pause, before Spiderman sighed and spoke up from the chair beside Tony’s couch.  “What?”  
  
“You think I’ll get super powers?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Awww...”  Tony sat up, pouting at him.  “But it was a chemical explosion!  You guys got super powers!”  
  
The brunet furrowed his brows back at the other male.  “Not from an explosion.  I got bit by a mutated spider, and Bruce...  well, he didn’t know entirely what he was doing.”  
  
The billionaire popped his neck carefully and winced.  “Well.  Buzzkill.  I’m hungry.”  
  
“Maybe that’s your superpower,” Peter offered helpfully.  “Eternal hunger.”  
  
Tony paused, half off the couch, and gave his friend a wounded look.  “You’re mean!”  He looked over as Pepper entered the room.  “Peeeep!  Peter’s being mean to me!!”  
  
The redhead sighed and sat down beside him, ignoring the tattling, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  “Perhaps,” she said quietly, “you should practice moderation next time.  Both of you.”  She pulled back to give Peter a stern look.  “And when Tony tells you something, you listen to him.  He _usually_ knows what he’s talking about.”  
  
“Well,” Tony sighed.  “About eighty percent of the time.”   He paused.  “Eighty eight.”  
  
“Tony, be serious,” Pepper snapped, face twisting with anger.  “You almost got-”  
  
“I am being serious!  You can’t just expect me to-”  
  
“-killed.  No, you’re not being-”  
  
“-tell the fut- oh I was just fine!  Bruce had my back-”  
  
“-serious enough.   _Tony_ , stop arguing with me and _listen_!”  
  
Silence fell in the room, the way her voice cracked on the last syllable drawing their attention to her.  Tony’s expression faded into guilt.  
  
Pepper sighed, slumping.  “Just be more careful next time.  I can’t lose you.”  She leaned in and kissed his forehead, then got up and gave Peter a hug.  “I want both of you to take a break.  Peter, Mary Jane wants you to call her.”  
  
The younger male nodded, and they both watched her go.  Peter whistled softly.  “She is so good at that.”  
  
“Tell me about it,” Tony grumbled.


	7. In Which Tony and Bruce Have a Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce doesn't have to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Capitulation
> 
> Okay, admittedly, I am a Science Bros fan. Generally, this is less on the 'bros' part and more like 'Science love' but whatever. I WANT TONY AND BRUCE-NESS DAMMIT. I love it, so much. OMG. I could go on and on about it. Really. ... I'm going to post this now.

Bruce came around at about midnight, and wandered out of his containment.  He went down three levels to the main kitchen, and was rifling through the fridge when Tony stumbled in.  
  
“Yo,” the billionaire muttered, leaning around him to snatch up a package of bagels.  He went over to the toaster and started it.  
  
The chemist watched him, letting the door of the fridge swing shut.  “You’re hurt,” he said, an off note to his voice.  
  
“Yep,” Tony answered, setting aside the package.  He went back to the fridge and got out cream cheese, but paused after catching sight of Bruce’s expression.  He reached out and squeezed his friend’s shoulder.  “It wasn’t you.  In fact, you were all ‘grr arg Hulk protect’!”  He grinned, and Bruce managed a wan echo of it.  “It’s fine.  Don’t worry so much, buddy!”  
  
For a few minutes, there was an awkward quiet between them as Tony waited for the bagels to finish toasting.  Then Bruce sighed.  “Mind popping a couple in for me?”  
  
Tony’s answering smile was worth the capitulation.


	8. In Which They Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter misses his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rain
> 
> Because apparently my crack bug died in the middle of this prompt session, and turned into a horribly angsty person.

On the anniversary of Harry’s death, it was raining.  Peter thought it kind of fitting, actually, despite standing before his best friend’s grave, soaking through more the longer he stood there.  
  
He could hear the sound of someone approaching behind him, but he didn’t turn.  An arm slipped through his, and a head rested on his shoulder.  “I miss him,” MJ murmured softly.  
  
Peter nodded, staring at the headstone.  “Me too.”  
  
As the quiet that followed seeped in, and the rain fell with a steady staccato of drum-beats, Peter remembered Harry’s laughter.


	9. In Which Natasha, For Once, Doesn't Want to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha comes home finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Endless Sky
> 
> Actually, wrote this and the next three last night! We had a mid-writing drabble break, and this is the first one I came up with. XD Enjoy!

Natasha had finally returned from a rather shitty mission, where she’d almost had to let herself be assaulted, her pretend ‘boyfriend’ turned out to be a spy using her for the same reason (and didn’t that just sound so very Mr. & Mrs. Smith?), and it was equal parts sexually frustrating and terrifying.  
  
And what did she have to encounter upon her return?  “What.  The Hell.  Is This?”  
  
Before her, Tony shot Steve a look.  To his credit, the Captain was completely red in the face with horrified embarrassment.  “It’s a welcome home gift,” the Iron Man said finally.  
  
The woman had to pause and take a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before she could so much as think about a calm response.  “A welcome home gift,” she echoed finally.  
  
She really shouldn’t have been so surprised.  This was _Tony_ , for Pete’s sake.  She was lucky he’d decided to do this _inside_ instead of on the roof under the endless sky.  And every camera from here to Texas.  
  
Before her, the two blonds on the carpet squirmed - rather indignantly - and Natasha had to cover her face with both hands.  
  
Actually, now she was just plain trying not to laugh.  This situation was _stupidly_ ridiculous.  “Tony,” she breathed after a few seconds.  “Tony, _why_?”  
  
The billionaire was grinning.  She couldn’t see it, with her hands over her eyes, but she could hear it in his voice.  “Well, to be fair, they brought it on themselves with the Tetris incident.”  
  
And no, Natasha didn’t want to know.  
  
She quickly lowered her hands, intent on interrupting what was likely to be a horrifying tale, but instead saw all three blonds in the room flinch.  
  
In the back of the room, Bruce’s face was buried in his _own_ hands, and Pepper had apparently decided this was a waste of time, because she was already long gone.  
  
Whatever this Tetris thing was, Natasha _really_ didn’t want to know.  More importantly...  “Untie Clint and Thor this minute!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next four have a Supernatural Universe!cameo, however, I do not consider it a permanent crossover, so I won't be noting it as one.


	10. In Which They Meet an Old Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supernatural-Universe!Cameo. Continues for the next three drabbles.
> 
> There are some boys that call Logan 'Uncle'. It's kind of weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Special
> 
> Please note that I am ignoring the fact that they only discovered Wendigos in episode 2. >.>

There were a few moments of quiet as the two men froze mid lunge to stare at each other.  A few moments during which Natasha caught Clint’s gaze, and Bruce looked just this side of baffled...  
  
And Logan smirked.  “Firestarter,” he said, almost fondly, which was just _weird_.  
  
The other male relaxed his position and grinned.  “You were-bear bastard!”  
  
Beyond him, the larger unknown male blinked.  “Uh.  Dean?  What the hell?”  
  
His smaller brother turned to scowl at him.  “What are you, special?  This is uncle Logan.”  
  
“Don’t call me Uncle,” Logan inserted seriously.  
  
Dean ignored him.  The larger brother paused.  “... wasn’t that the fuzzy guy that...”  He paused to give Logan a once over.  “Oh!  Uncle Logan!  Right, the guy from that Wendigo thing when I was _twelve_.”  Another pause.  “How did you warrant an ‘uncle’?”  
  
“It pisses me off, and John knew it,” Logan muttered irritably, crossing his arms.  
  
By this point, the other Avengers had also settled down, and now Tony walked forward, faceplate sliding up.  “Well.  Now that we’re all friends again.”  He turned to Logan.  “What the hell?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering about the 'Firestarter' thing- it's a nickname that Logan gave to Dean. On a Wendigo hunt. Think about it. Questions can be directed to a PM. The were-bear thing... is just a reference to Logan's rather animal-like appearance. >.> To a child, he kind of looks like a big man-bear.


	11. In Which Sam is Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean thinks Sam is being a bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3. Escape
> 
> All I can smell right now is chille. It's not a bad smell. *drools*

Dean looked a bit disappointed when Spiderman decided to take off.  Sam looked relieved.  Both Winchesters had been invited to dinner at the Avengers Tower.  Sam pulled his brother aside.  
  
“I don’t know if we should,” he said carefully.  “I mean... Cas is still waiting at the hotel...”  
  
“You know what?  Screw Cas.  He’s a dick, and we haven’t seen Uncle Logan in a long time,” Dean said, and shook his head.  
  
“What about their identities?” the younger Winchester tried.  
  
Dean shrugged.  “ _They_ invited _us_.  Obviously they don’t care if we know.”  
  
“And the case-”  
  
“It’s after sunset now.  We lost the trail, obviously, and stop being a little bitch.”  
  
Well, there it was, the younger thought as Dean stalked off to rejoin their newfound superhero friends.  
  
Sam had no escape now.


	12. In Which Sanity is Overrated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Bruce says he's not that kind of doctor...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Piglet
> 
> Yes, I mean the one from Winney the Pooh.

It was the homiest that Avengers Tower had ever felt.  Sam’s face buried in his hands as Dean - beer in one hand - expounded upon the story of that one time with the rabbit’s foot.  Thor and Tony were laughing loudly, Steve was flushed in embarrassment on Sam’s behalf, though a little grin still hung on his face anyway.  Natasha was covering a smirk with one hand, and Clint wore a grimace of sympathy.  
  
“Oh man, that’s got to hurt,” Logan cackled as Dean told them about the thieves.  “Yowch!”  
  
It was amazing, Bruce thought, watching the boys get into a fist fight when Sam tried to talk about a possessed piglet.  
  
Not _peaceful_ , or even remotely sane, but it was definitely _happy_.  
  
Bruce was strangely okay with that.


	13. In Which Steve is Not a Teddy Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam hit the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Exuberant Laughter
> 
> I actually wrote this one this morning, so I could wrap up the Dean-and-Sam bit. XDD Next drabble goes back to the Avengers!

Tony woke up with a pounding headache, to utter silence.  Gone was the crowded room, the exuberant laughter, the teasing tales of the night before.  Now, it was only quiet, and he wasn’t really that ready to peel himself up off the living room floor.  Nearby, Thor snorted and fell off the couch.  He didn’t stir, just reached out, patting the floor a bit, and found Steve’s arm.  The Captain grumbled in his sleep when Thor dragged him over to cuddle, like an over-sized teddy bear.  
  
Tony had to bury his face in his elbow to keep from waking them with his snickering.  And it was only because of this that Tony heard the slight scrape on the carpet.  
  
He rolled over and stumbled to his feet.  At the door, Sam and Dean paused, blinking at him.  Sam reached over and smacked his brother’s shoulder.  “You woke him up!” he hissed accusingly.  
  
“Wha- I did not!”  Dean scowled.  
  
The billionaire blinked at them a few times.  “Leaving?”  
  
Sam nodded and turned toward him, keeping his voice low so as not to interrupt Thor’s snoring or something.  “Yeah, we have to hit the road.  Our case isn’t really finished, and our partner’s been waiting for us to return all night.”  He shot his brother a glare.  “Without _any clue_ that we were alive and well.   _Dean_.”  
  
At least Dean had the grace to look guilty.  “I thought I called him!”  
  
“You were drunk, you imagined it!” Sam hissed angrily.  
  
Tony quirked both brows.  The younger brother sighed and shrugged.  “We got a message from him.  He was kind of panicking...”  
  
Dean cringed.  
  
“Well.  Let me get you a few things to take back, in that case,” Tony said cheerfully, and grinned.  
  
Twenty minutes later, the brothers were leaving with a duffle bag full of interesting things.  Including, but not limited to; fresh clothes for all three members of their party (Sam said that ‘Castiel’ was having a ‘humanity crisis’, whatever that meant), a case of cassette tapes that Tony didn’t use anymore but felt needed to see the light of day (all approved by Dean, and some by Sam), two hundred bucks that Dean didn’t say no to (Sam tried, but they disappeared into Dean’s wallet before he could so much as finish his sentence), and a special cell phone.  
  
“For emergencies only,” Tony said as he’d packed it into a pocket on the stuffed bag.  “Mainly to contact us, if you need the help.”  
  
The boys thanked him, and left.  The second the door closed behind them, Tony smiled when he heard Steve yelp.  “Thor!  What the hell!”


	14. In Which Avenger's Tower Has a Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony needs to work on forewarning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Identity
> 
> For those of you who either don't remember Harley, or never saw IM3, he is a boy that Tony met in Tennessee after his suit broke down. They kinda had a buddy thing going on. Anyway, I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here, just bear with me.

“ _Sir.  Sir, there’s a child in the lobby._ ”  
  
Pepper, cut off mid-tirade by JARVIS' announcement, blinked.  Tony’s head appeared over the hood of the car he was working on.  “He’s here?”  
  
“He?  He who?  Tony, why is there a _child_ -” Pepper began, but the billionaire wasn’t listening.  
  
He was, in fact, circling the vehicle and heading for the doors, where he met Bruce.  “Bruce, old buddy, old pal, gotta introduce you to someone.  Pepper, you too!”  
  
The redhead stammered for a second before just giving up and following them, which was cool, because Tony wasn’t listening anyway.  Up the hall they went, into the elevator, and then there was a pause as they waited.  
  
“Tony?”  
  
“Yes, Bruce?”  
  
“Why are we going to meet a kid?”  
  
“You’ll see.  He’s awesome.  I uh... I actually told you about him, but you slept through that.”  
  
Bruce frowned at him, and Pepper sighed.  
  
A pause, the doors opened, and Tony waltzed out.  He threw his arms wide open.  “Harley!  Lady whose name I don’t know.  Welcome!”  
  
The brunette woman standing with the kid frowned.  “Emma Keener, Mr. Stark.  Are you going to explain why we’re here yet?”  
  
“Uh, no, not yet, but I’ll get to it.  Harley, my man, how you doing?” Tony asked, holding up a hand.  
  
Harley made a face at him.  “A high-five?  Really?”  
  
Tony shrugged.  “No, not really, I was going to fake you out.”  
  
“Oh.”  Pause.  “Nice!”  
  
Turning to grin at his companions, Tony then paused.  They were both giving him nearly identical frowns, and when he glanced at the brunette - Emmey?  Emma, right - she was frowning too.  “Oh alright, fine!  Let’s order pizza, crack open some sodas, and have a nice sit-down.  I’ll explain, I promise, and you might even like it!”  
  
“Tony,” Pepper said, tone pitched into that _delicious_ anger that always went straight to his libido.  
  
He just grinned.  “Meet you in the lounge!”  He grabbed Harley’s hand, dragged him - and his mother, who had a vise grip on him, and _wow_ \- into the elevator.  Pepper was yelling his name as the doors snapped closed.  
  
Tony grinned even more.  “So.  Pepperoni or anchovies?”  
  
The mother looked like she was going to slap him, but Harley smirked and responded, “Anchovies.”  
  
“Oh, yeah, you are _totally_ awesome.”


	15. In Which Tony Has an Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is staying out of this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: And then there were two
> 
> Comment? Please? I'd love some feedback on this- and don't think I don't know you're reading it.

“You... you want my son to be... to be...”  Emma was staring at him like she wasn’t quite sure what to say.  “And you want to...  But... my...”  
  
“Oh, don’t worry, you of course will still retain custody, or most of it,” Tony said, apparently unbothered by the woman’s shock.  
  
Pepper sighed and offered the brunette a glass of whiskey.  Emma took it and downed it in one go.  “I’m _so_ sorry he’s dropping this on you.  Tony has a problem giving anyone forewarning.”  
  
Tony pouted.  “It was a sudden idea.  And it’s a good idea!  I mean, there are definitely benefits in this for both of you,” he said, the last directed toward Emma.  “For one, all of his education would be funded by me.  He’d go to the best schools, he’d get the best medical care, the best _everything_.  And then when I die-”  
  
“You’re talking about adopting _my son_ and making him _your heir_ ,” the woman exploded.  “I thought Miss Potts was your heir!”  
  
“Oh, well, she was, until- well, things,” Tony said, and waved a hand as if to dismiss the thought.  “Apparently you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”  He paused, glanced at Pepper - who frowned - and went on.  No eating jokes.  “So I need a new heir.  Pepper doesn’t want my kid...”  
  
Pepper rolled her eyes.  “Anyway, if you’d like some time to talk between yourselves, or think about it, that’s _more_ than reasonable.”  
  
“But not too much time,” Tony interrupted.  “An... hour-”  
  
“Tony-”  
  
“Okay, that’s unreasonable.  A day.”  
  
“A _week_.”  
  
“Wha-”  Tony turned to look at the redhead, wounded, and shot Bruce a pleading glance.  But his fellow scientist pretended to be very interested in the scotch.  “A week?  A whole-”  
  
“-week, yes, Tony.”  
  
The two paused, frowning at each other, and then Tony turned to Emma, who was still staring at them with an ashen face.  “A week.”  
  
Inhaling slowly, the brunette nodded and set down her empty glass.  “Alright.  I’ll think about it for a week,” she said.  “In the meantime, I would like to return home with my son.”  
  
Pepper smiled at her.  “Yes, of course.  We’ll fund-”  
  
“On my own,” Emma added, firmly, with that single-mother steel to her voice.  
  
A beat.  “Okay,” Tony said, blinking.  “Sure, of course.  At least let me pay the cab ride to the airport...”  
  
Emma eyed him for a moment, before giving a single nod.  More likely than not, Bruce thought, she probably didn’t have enough money to cover the cab and the plane.  Not after Tony had rushed her out here so quickly.  
  
“Great,” Tony said.  “JARVIS-”  
  
“ _A cab will be here in ten minutes to bring you to the airport, Ms. Keener_ ,” JARVIS spoke up.  “ _I have arranged a plane, and you may pay for the tickets at the terminal_.”  
  
“Thank you,” the woman murmured, getting up.  “I’ll... be in touch, Mr. Stark.”  
  
Tony, Pepper and Bruce watched Emma walk Harley to the elevator, and waited until the doors closed behind them.  Tony frowned.  “You think I came on too strong?” he asked, thoughtfully.


	16. In Which We Have a Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's going through some serious shit. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Reality
> 
> Warning- B&G descriptions coming up. That's blood and gore, for those of you not in my head.

The world was spinning.  He couldn’t seem to get a grasp on it, to make it stop, no matter how desperately he tried.  It was making him nauseous, and his head already hurt, pounding like sticks on a drum.   _Thump thump thump..._  
  
He couldn’t seem to recall very well how he got here... wherever here was.  Nor could he understand what was going on around him, a rare occasion for him, honestly.  His lungs weren’t working well; it felt like a hot iron band had been wrapped around them.  He struggled against it, strived to breathe- to _live_ , but it wasn’t working.  
  
 _I’m going to die_.  It wasn’t the first time he’d ever had this thought, nor was it bound to be the last.  Still, just like every time before, it rang true.  Just as surely as reality warped and twisted around him, he knew he was really going to be done for this time.  
  
It just wasn’t going to work.  
  
Then there was green- green like summer, like trees in the spring, like ephemeral magic dancing upon the wind.  And a voice, eyes so close, breath smelling faintly like cinnamon.  “ _Live_.”  
  
The band dissipated, and Tony heaved in a new lungful of air.


	17. In Which Loki is an Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony nearly has a heart attack. It's Loki's fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Brush with Death
> 
> I have an unhealthy obsession with Loki. >.>;

He must have passed out after that, because before he knew it, he was waking up.  Gone was the dark of before, the faded edges to his eyesight.  Instead, he lay on his own bed, in his own room, listening to muffled voices out in the corridor.  
  
There was movement, out of the corner of his eye, and Tony turned his head.  Then immediately rolled away, thudding to the floor on the opposite side, his recent brush with death forgotten in remembrance of another.  The figure by the half-open curtain chuckled.  “It is good to know you remember who I am, mortal,” he said, voice a purr that was both familiar and not.  
  
“Shit,” Tony gasped out, half-formed nightmares brushing the corner of his mind as the other male simply waited.  “JARVIS, wha-”  His breath cut out on him, and the word wasn’t complete before he was gasping for air.   _Panic attack_.  “What is he _doing here_!?”  
  
“ _He saved your life, sir, though he is not supposed to be alone in the room with you,_ ” JARVIS responded dutifully.  “ _Of course he didn’t listen._ ”  
  
Loki lifted his chin, the half-light from outside casting the planes of his face into shadow.  “I take orders from no man, real or otherwise,” he said haughtily.  “I merely wished to see that you recovered.”  
  
“ ** _Get out of my room_** ,” Tony snarled, clutching at his heart.  
  
The door snapped open and both Steve and Thor were rushing in, the latter toward his brother, and former to Tony.  “Brother!” Thor boomed as Tony sagged in relief.  “You are _supposed_ -”  
  
“Yes, yes, I am leaving,” Loki huffed, walking leisurely for the door.  He paused beside it and turned, ignoring Cap’s glare to look Tony right in the eye.  “We will speak later.”  With a smile - not unlike the predator to the prey - he waltzed from the room as if everything happened according to his whim.  
  
And with that, a dreadful thought occurred to the Iron Man.  He owed Loki for saving his life.


	18. In Which Steve Explains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really beat up on Tony too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Safe
> 
> I have a prize for anyone that can guess where this is going.

“What happened?” Tony asked Steve when the brothers were long gone.  
  
The Captain frowned and sat on the edge of the bed, watching the billionaire lean back against the wall.  “Remember we went to Chicago, to investigate the sudden disappearances of a bunch of children?  The same people that took the kids snagged you.  We couldn’t find you for two days,” he said.  “Finally, Thor suggested that Loki might have a tracking spell on you, so we went to get him from the Asgard prison.  He did have the spell on you, and we found you, but they were...”  
  
He stopped, blue eyes lowering to stare almost ashamedly at his hands.  “You were cut open like some sort of... frog up for dissection.  Strapped to a table and hooked up to life-support machines.  The beings that took you - and the kids - weren’t human.  They were trying to find a way to biologically control humans.  As slaves.  They were experimenting on the children...”  His voice broke, and he swallowed.  “Thanks to Loki, we found you all, and saved... who was left.  He healed you, Stark.  We thought for sure you wouldn’t survive, but he made sure you would.”  
  
Tony took a slow breath and wished he had some whiskey.  “Why?”  
  
Steve shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I think he was angry about the children, actually,” he admitted.  “Even after we’d gotten them to safety, he took the risk of going back... and it wasn’t pretty at all.  Thor helped him.”  
  
Sighing, Tony pulled himself to his feet.  “The children,” he muttered.  “So that’s why he saved me...  I can understand that...”  
  
“Tony.”  Steve waited until he could catch the billionaire’s eye.  “He can’t hurt you.  Literally.  Apparently, there were some pretty powerful magicks that Odin put on him in order for him to come here.  They prevent him from causing harm to anyone of Asgard, or allied with Thor.”  
  
Silence fell between them as Tony rooted through his closet for fresh clothes.  When he finally spoke, his voice was flat.  “We’ll see.”


	19. In Which Logan Picks a Fight and Peter Lets it Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki just pisses everyone off, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fight
> 
> I warned you about that obsession problem, right? Anyway, several more drabbles coming your way.

Loki was like a plague.  He came in, and he rotted people from the inside to the out, until there was nothing left.  He was vicious, unmerciful, and cruel.  
  
In the end, Logan felt like the man needed to be taken down a notch or five hundred, since clearly his defeat previously at the hands of the Avengers didn’t amount to much in the scheme of things.  
  
And so, as soon as the Wolverine caught sight of the god, he was stalking forward.  “You, me, training room, _now_ ,” he growled out, looking up into cold green eyes.  
  
“For _what_ reason would I abide _your_ wishes?” the green-clad egomaniac demanded coolly, eyes shuttered.  
  
Logan lifted one hand, slowly, so as to draw the god’s gaze to it, and unsheathed all three claws.  “So I can kick your ass.”  
  
Sitting on the couch not ten feet away, Peter started to get up.  “Okay, wait, guys, I don’t think this is really the ti-”  
  
Loki was already talking.  “How could you _possibly_ believe yourself capable of ever defeating me in combat?”  
  
The Spiderman paused, and lifted both hands in surrender as he sat down again.  “Have fun.  Take pictures.  Make him bleed.”  
  
Logan just grinned.


	20. In Which Fun is Spoiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is far too fun to tease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Shower
> 
> If you're wondering, yes, I support any and all Steve pairings. And no, I haven't decided if I'm actually going to pair him with someone yet. >.> The only real pairings are Pepper x Tony and Peter x Mary Jane.

In the end, it was closer to a tie than a victory.  Logan badly injured Loki’s arm, and Loki all but gutted Logan.  They didn’t actually come to a stopping point, though, because Steve found out about the fight and came in with Thor to break it up.  
  
After that, the Captain waltzed Logan off for a shower while Thor chewed his brother out for picking fights - despite the fact that Logan had started it.  Of course, Logan got his own rant.  
  
“What were you thinking?” Cap demanded, voice pitched to be easily heard over the thunderous sound of the shower.  “Loki is one of the few people in the universe that’s capable of killing you, Logan-”  
  
“He wouldn’t’ve killed me,” the Wolverine grunted.  “Can’t, remember?”  He smirked at the following sullen silence, and shut off the water.  Stepping out without even a towel, he was amused when Steve turned bright red and spun away.   _Kids._  “And anyway, he didn’t get serious until I proved I wasn’t one to take lightly, and you two came in a couple minutes after that.”  
  
Steve’s shoulders slumped a little, and when he spoke, his voice was soft.  “You could have gotten hurt, Logan...”  
  
Mid-reach for a towel, the mutant paused and eyed his fellow Avenger.  Then sighed and started drying off.  “So?  I’d have healed.”  He tossed the towel aside and got dressed.  
  
“You don’t know that.  Not against Loki.  He has tricks that... that I’d never even heard of before I met him.”  The young man’s voice was firm.  
  
Logan smirked and reached out, grabbing him by the bicep and turning him to face him.  “That’s ‘cause you lack imagination,” he answered, amused at the annoyed look he got for that.  “C’mon, lets get some grub, I’m famished.”  
  
Sighing, the Captain followed him from the room, exasperated but surrendering anyway.  “Someone needs to just tie you up somewhere and leave you there.”  
  
“Is that an offer?”  
  
The look on Cap’s face was so worth it.


	21. In Which Peter Notices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki isn't always as good at acting as he likes to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Wishes
> 
> I was actually serious about that prize thing. If anyone can guess where I'm going with this Loki plot, you get two drabbles about a character of your choice.

“So.  When is Loki leaving, again?  I forget,” Peter said, unsubtly, as he leaned back against the wall of the kitchen.  
  
Thor paused in eating, and when he looked up, his blue eyes glittered angrily.  “My brother has an invitation to be here.  The man of iron has not yet rescinded it, nor has the Lady Pepper.”  
  
“No,” Peter allowed, rolling one shoulder, “but he keeps pestering people, and eventually, someone will snap.”  He stiffened and side-stepped away from the entrance, the second Loki appeared in the doorway.  “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.  Hello, backstabbing bastard.”

The green-garbed male grinned, showing all his pearly whites in a mirthless expression.  “Devil?  No, I am far worse,” was the glib response.  “Perhaps you should spend more time working on your insults, and less discussing others while they are not present.  I wonder if you’d have the gall to repeat these things in person?”

Thor scowled at him.  “Despite your wishes for conflict, my brother, our words are no secret.”  
  
“Oh how brave,” Loki said sweetly, and all but batted his eyelashes at the blond.  It was kind of disturbing, actually.  “Do tell, then!”  
  
Making a face, Thor reached out for a mug of - likely - coffee.  “We were discussing the duration of your stay.”  
  
Still smiling, Loki lifted one finger and twirled it.  “I was under the impression that I am welcome,” he drawled, as a snake slithered out of the mug.  
  
Thor slammed the cup down, as the snake slid away.  “Do not play your tricks on me, brother!” he roared, jumping to his feet as the various dishes on the breakfast island rattled in place.  
  
“Temper, temper,” Loki murmured, pulling back out of reach.  “It was only for a laugh...”  
  
No less angry, but at least not yelling anymore, Thor stood fuming for a moment before sitting down slowly.  “I do not find amusement in your trickery these days,” he grumbled, and went back to eating.  
  
Loki paused, then reached out and brushed the mug.  Steam curled up from its top as he turned his head away, and blinked at Peter.  His eyes narrowed.  “Yes?”  Frosty tone.  
  
 _Huh_.  The webcrawler shrugged.  “Nothin’,” he said, pushing away from the wall.  “Gonna go bug Natasha.  Thor, we should catch a movie later.  MJ’s been wanting to meet you.  Something about wild boys- which I really don’t want to think about.”  He made a face, and walked from the room, considering the bond of brothers.


	22. In Which Peter Investigates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is caught red-handed. Figuratively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fates
> 
> No, I'm not pairing Peter with Loki. Or Peter with Natasha. Or Natasha with Loki- ... well, okay, the latter has a possibility of happening, but I'm not saying yea or nea yet. Mostly cuz I haven't decided one way or another.

Natasha was doing stretches with Bruce, of all people, when Peter entered the training room with them.  She paused, though, catching sight of the troubled look on his face.  “Something on your mind?” she asked, and practically folded herself in half backwards as she reached for her toes.  
  
Bruce was giving her an alarmed, but intrigued, look, and Peter grinned.  “Keep that up, and you’re going to make BB Hulk out just from _thinking_ about it.”  
  
The redhead blinked, and turned her head to look at Bruce.  Bruce was frowning at Peter, cheeks slightly pink.  “I, uh, think that’s my cue,” he decided after a beat, abandoning his half-hearted attempts at the same kinds of movements as the woman.  “I’ll be in my lab if anyone needs me.”  
  
Silence fell until long after Bruce was gone, when Natasha had finished her stretches.  She bounced agilely to her feet and arched a brow at the webcrawler.  “I know you didn’t chase him out just to stare at my chest in private,” she said mildly.  
  
Caught, but feeling rather unguilty about it, Peter gifted her with a cheeky grin.  “Well, the idea has its appeal.  Lucky for you, MJ would kill me slowly and with much prejudice if I so much as thought about touching you.”  Pause.  “That is, if there was anything left to kill.”  
  
“Peter,” she sighed, crossing her arms.  “Why are you here?”  
  
He sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his head.  “I was wondering what you thought about Loki.  I understand you two had some sort of heart-to-heart or something, back during his initial attack.”  
  
Green eyes narrowed at him.  “Why?” she asked, and he realized he’d actually caught her off guard.  
  
“Humor me.”  
  
The spy exhaled through her nose and thought about it.  “He’s brilliant,” she decided finally.  “Egocentric.  A performer, as I’m sure Tony’s said before.  He’s also incredibly insecure, painfully indignant at times, and has the maturity of a five year old.  And that’s not even counting the pure insanity.”  
  
Peter hummed thoughtfully.  “Where do you get insecure?” he asked finally.  
  
“Watch him, you’ll see,” Natasha said, and then, as if the fates were laughing at him, quirked her lips in a smirk.  “Why so curious, Spidey?  Got a crush or something?”  
  
With a pained grimace, and a hand clutching at his heart, the webcrawler stumbled toward the door.  “I need to find somewhere to throw up now.”  Oh the indignity!   _A **crush**!?_  “Urk.”  
  
Natasha’s laughter followed him back to the elevator.


	23. In Which We Have More Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce hears a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Serenade Me Sweetly
> 
> I don't know how old it is, but this is an actual Norse lullaby. My explanation is that Frigga used to sing it to Loki to get him to sleep when he was younger. >.>;

The sound woke Bruce in the middle of the night, irrationally.  He shouldn’t have even been able to hear it, and _didn’t_ , until he’d wandered into the hall.  
  
It was singing, soft and sweet, like a night-time serenade to a restless child.  He followed the tune through the hallway, and down the stairs, until he reached the lounge.  There, he peeked around the doorjam and blinked at the figure standing in the window, back to him.  
  
The words ghosted back to him, tender and somehow sad.  Longing.  “The sky is dark, and the hills are white, and the storm King speeds from north to night.  And this is the song the storm King sings as over the world his cloak he flings.  Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep.  He rustles his wings, and gruffly sings: sleep, sleep, little one, sleep...”  
  
Bruce was standing there staring when the man turned slightly, glancing back over his shoulder.  “It is customarily polite to alert one to your presence,” Loki said, soft voice tempered by something like grief.  
  
The chemist looked away guiltily.  “Sorry, I just...  I didn’t want to interrupt.”  
  
“Did I wake you?”  
  
The question surprised him, and he shook his head as he looked up again.  Loki had turned back to the window.  “Erm, no.  I... I don’t sleep well,” he said, thoughtfully.  
  
Loki hummed in acknowledgement of the statement, and said nothing else for a long time.  Bruce turned to go, but paused and glanced back.  “It’s beautiful,” he said, garnering a startled doubletake.  “The song, I mean.  Um.  Yeah.  Going back to bed now.”  
  
And maybe it was his imagination, but as Bruce walked down the corridor, he thought perhaps he’d caught the words, “Thank you.”


	24. In Which Bruce Has a Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Observation is key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Misery
> 
> Build-up... And you get the next one tomorrow. XDDD Maybe. If I'm here. If not... Monday.

After that night, Bruce started to pay more attention. What he found was that Loki wasn’t nearly as unaffected by the Avengers’ opinions - and more specifically those of his adoptive family - as he pretended to be.  
  
In the daylight hours, when people were around, he did his utmost to irk them, and usually succeeded. However, more often than not, the god would be up all night, in some nook or another, sulking.  
  
He was certainly the performer, the trickster, the asshole, but he was more than those things, as the Hulk came to see. He was also the abandoned child, the betrayed son, the lonely soul (if Thor’s explanations were to be believed, and they usually were). He’d allow himself to sink into his own misery when no one watched, self-loathing a thick cloak weighing down his shoulders.

He hated himself more than he hated anyone else, and that was what made Bruce’s decision for him.  He went out one night to the lounge to join the magician.

Tony had long since passed out from exhaustion.  He had just returned from a weekend trip with Emma, Pepper, Harley and Harley’s little sister Rebecca to Disney Land (Harley’s puppy eyes were practically a lethal weapon and everyone but Tony knew it).  The rest of the Avengers were either gone or asleep themselves.  No one would come to rescue him should this go badly, but then again, he didn’t really need rescuing.  
  
Most importantly of all, no one else would see.


	25. In Which Loki's Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce definitely has the upper hand here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Tempting

He knew his steps were silent, but even so, Loki turned to look at him as he hesitated at the door.  His brow wrinkled slightly when Bruce ventured further beyond that, unlike usual, and went over to sit on the couch.  He had a textbook with him, which he opened, and used the lamp on the endtable to read.  
  
Almost ten minutes passed before Loki spoke up from just over his shoulder.  “Why are you here?”  
  
Bruce took the time to finish reading the paragraph, and when he spoke, his voice was just as soft.  “Because I want to be.  You don’t have a monopoly on the lounge.”  He turned the page after finishing the section, and heard the now-distant sound of a shoe scuffing over carpet after a moment.  Loki had gone back to the window.  
  
A few seconds after that, a crinkle of leather.  He was near the bar.  A reflection in the television seen from the corner of one eye told Bruce a minute later that he was nearing the stereo system.  Pacing.  
  
“ _I_ am in here,” the god said finally, once again standing behind the couch.  
  
The chemist didn’t smile, or frown.  He finished the paragraph and turned his head slightly to view the next page.  “Yes?”  It was so tempting to say more, to ask why that mattered, but that would be too obvious and Loki might leave.  
  
Loki drew away again, and paced some more, his agitation increasing.  But Bruce knew the source of that agitation- it was confusion at the Hulk’s nonchalance with the situation.  
  
The green-clad magician walked into sight then, standing at the edge of the chemist’s vision by the end of the couch.  His arms were crossed, but he said nothing, only stared.  Once again finishing the page, Bruce looked up almost reluctantly, and met green eyes.  “What is it?”  
  
Brow furrowing more only made the man look like a petulant child, but somehow Banner managed not to smile.  “ _I_ am here, in this room,” he reiterated, as if saying something obvious that should lead to some sort of adverse reaction.  
  
Bruce tilted his head a little, brows lifting, and blinked twice.  Paused, waiting to see if Loki would say more.  “... yes, you are.  We’ve already covered that, I think.”  
  
The other man let out an impatient breath.  “Are your Avengers not afraid I’ll kill you?” he demanded finally.  
  
“Ah.”  Bruce closed the text, keeping one finger between the pages so he didn’t lose his place.  “They don’t know I’m here.  Nor is it really their business.  I’m just reading.”  He paused, reconsidering.  “Well, and apparently having a rather baffling conversation.”  
  
Green eyes narrowed again.  “And what is so baffling about it?”  
  
 _As if you don’t know_.  “I’m not quite sure why we’re having it to begin with?”  The only response he got was a scoff, and this time he allowed the smile.  “If you don’t mind, I’m going back to my text.”  Pointedly, he opened it, and went back to reading.  
  
A beat passed, before Loki went back to pacing by the window.


	26. In Which There is New Emphasis on Headrush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha's been captured. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Bird

Natasha hung upside down, her ankles tied together and her arms hanging bound at the wrists, when she awoke.  Somewhere nearby, there was the soft musical chirping of a bird.  It came from a window near the ceiling, which meant she was in a basement or cellar somewhere.  
  
Swallowing against the sand-paper taste of sleeping with her mouth open, she glanced around, wondering how long she’d been upside down.  It was starting to become a problem; she could barely breathe.  
  
Slowly, sluggishly, she set to getting herself free.


	27. In Which Things Go Boom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beware. Clint and angst ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Exhausted

Clint was exhausted, but he pushed on, stumbling down the dark hallway, fingers brushing smooth marble walling.   _Natasha_...  
  
They’d told him she was going to die slowly.  They’d told him that it was already begun.  He’d killed every one of them; it’d been a hard battle despite his anger at the time.  
  
He didn’t have much time now.  
  
His toe caught on a crack in the floor, and he stumbled, barely managing to catch himself.  Somewhere nearby, he could hear whimpering, and he hurried up.  There was a sort of knob beside the door, connected to a wheel with a rope; a pulley system.  With an ironic sort of desperation, he heaved down on the knob, taking his bloody hand off his side to do so.  Then he pushed up once it reached the bottom, forced to take a step forward to compensate for the extra distance.  
  
Slowly, horribly, he raised the door, and then carefully took his hands off.  It stayed.  
  
However, when he walked through it, Natasha was nowhere in sight.  Only a girl with yellow hair, tied up to a post.  She looked up at him, tears streaking down her cheeks, and sobbed with a smile.  “Run, ohhh, run!” she said, crying more.  
  
He saw the explosive rigged to the post when she shifted, and he dove out before the door finished crashing down.  Arms coming up over his head, the world rocked with the ear-cracking boom.  
  
Clint would never forget that ironic, heartbroken smile.


	28. In Which Something is Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha escapes. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Simple
> 
> I just realized I hadn't been leaving my normal, slightly sarcastic, brainless witticisms lately (and isn't THAT an oxymoron?) Well, here you go. I just did.

She managed to get out of the ropes in record time, and searched the doorless room for an exit.  The only one she could find was the window, but it was too small for her to fit.  Cursing, she ran her hands along the walls again.  
  
On her third pass on the right wall, she felt a slight shift, and pressed in.  The wall moved a little, and with a little more strength, it abruptly clicked out of place, about an inch.  She moved the wall to the side, and it slid into itself, revealing a simple floor-to-ceiling entrance.  
  
Drawing a breath, she knelt and tugged a blade from the hem of her pants.  The world swam before her eyes.  
  
Swaying, her hand snapped out automatically to brace herself on the doorjam.  “What the hell...”  
  
She blinked several times, trying to correct the problem, and thought it strange.  She didn’t feel sick, or dizzy.  There was no aftertaste of inhaled or consumed poison, no burn from injections.  She felt _fine_.  But she couldn’t see straight.  
  
Without warning, all she saw was black.


	29. In Which Our Villain is Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stop me if you've heard this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Drug
> 
> In a side note, I'd like to hear what you think of my Mysterio. I admit, I haven't any practice with him, and it's been a long time since I've heard or seen anything with him in it. This is mostly from memory, with a touch of Wiki. Critiques are welcome.

When Clint found her, it was to see her dressed up in a skimpy spider-designed outfit, sitting in a throne-like chair beside a man.  The man had a larger seat, more ornate, and wore a strange smokey globe.  His outfit consisted of a purple cape and a green jumpsuit.  
  
He was running golden-yellow gloved fingers gently through Natasha’s red hair when Clint walked through the door.  “Hawkeye, how wonderful of you to join us,” he murmured, brushing the back of his knuckles over her cheek before sitting straight.  “It’s been so long.  I hope you haven’t forgotten me...”  
  
“Mysterio,” the archer growled, fingers clenching.  “What have you done to her?”  
  
“Don’t be so upset,” Mysterio said with a smile in his voice.  “She’s only drugged.  Don’t worry!”  He stood, and threw his arms wide open as smoke shifted through the room.  “You have other things to occupy your mind with.”  As the smoke cleared... the whole Avengers team stood between Clint and Natasha.


	30. In Which Mysterio Cheats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint learns a few things about his copy-cat opponents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lie Covered Happiness
> 
> I have a huge headache, and I still need to walk the kids to two separate busses. *headdesk*

Clint got off two arrows - one at the Hulk and another at Spider-Man - before Thor caught him and threw him into Iron Man’s arms.  From there, Logan raced forward as reality seemed to invert on him.  
  
 _Then he stood alone, in a posh living room, staring at Natasha, who smiled back at him.  “Clint, are you okay?” she asked, reaching out to touch his arm.  Her hair was long, and tied up into an elaborate braided bun behind her head.  She wore a long red dress and black gloves and shoes.  As if for an evening out._  
  
 _He shook off the feeling of wrongness and returned the smile.  “Um, yeah.  I’m okay.  What were you saying?  I spaced off.”_  
  
 _Natasha tilted her head, brows drawing together in concern.  “We’re going to be late for the dinner.  You **do** recall the anniversary arrangements Tony made for us, right?”_  
  
 _Blankly, he echoed, “Anniversary?”  And caught sight of the ring on her finger.  He looked down at his own hand, at the ring there, and the sense of unease returned.  This wasn’t right.  He wouldn’t marry Natasha...  Hell, Natasha would never marry **him**._  
  
 _“This isn’t real,” he muttered, backing away from her._  
  
He just managed to squirm out of Iron Man’s hold in time to avoid Logan’s claws.  They clanged off the red armour, and both men stumbled.  Clint smiled.  Not as good as the originals.


	31. In Which They're In the Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint's having a hard time. Not that this is new or anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Skirmish
> 
> I have Goldfish. The snack. They are delicious. Omg, nom. *drools* I'm also seriously contemplating a baked potato.

In the end, Clint managed to come out of the skirmish on top, using his knowledge of the real Avengers, and their weaknesses.  Mysterio fled, and Clint got in contact with Fury as he retreated with Natasha.  
  
He got her to the hospital some time later, and they confirmed she was okay.  He was surprised when it was Peter that came to the hospital, out of all the other Avengers.  “Is everything okay?” the photographer asked.  He was dressed in slightly baggy jeans, a white button-down, and a tan jacket.  Ergo, no mentioning the Avengers.  
  
Actually, he would like nothing more than to unload to Peter right now, because truthfully out of all of them, Peter was the least likely to say anything to anyone about it.  He wanted to tell him how much of a failure he felt like, for losing the mark and almost losing his partner.  How he couldn’t stop picturing that girl’s defeated smile.  
  
God, that smile.  As if she knew it was too late, but was happy someone had come anyway.  His heart clenched.  
  
“Clint?” Peter asked, brow furrowing slightly as he peered at the blond in concern.  
  
Clint sighed, shoulders slumping.  However, he could say nothing about the mission, as it had been top secret for SHIELD.  Obviously.  So Clint just nodded and rubbed a hand over his face.  “Yeah…  Yeah, Nat’s okay.  She’ll be okay.  Just heavily sedated,” he said, sighing.  
  
“What about you?” the other man asked, gaze flickering over Clint’s form.  
  
The archer knew what he must look like right now.  Scrapes and burns, rips in his clothing, melted fabric…  He should probably count himself lucky that Mysterio hadn’t thought to add Loki to the fight.  That would have been humiliating and probably fatal.  
  
He reached up and rubbed his face with both hands this time, which was a bit difficult, but he managed.  “S’all superficial,” he muttered after a beat.  “Mostly just exhausted.”  
  
“Clint.”  That was a tone he’d never heard from the photographer before.  “There are stitches in your side, and a brace on your right wrist.”  
  
_Ah, mad at me._  “It’s only fractured,” the archer said as he dropped his hand.  
  
Peter did not look pleased with him, so he continued.  “Really.  Natasha’s the one I was worrying about.  She was…”  But dammit, he couldn’t say anything about that.  “I was just scared, ‘cause she wouldn’t wake up.”  
  
Before Peter could scold him some more, his phone buzzed.  He knew before he looked that it would be Fury, or Hill.  Someone wanting an update.  “Just… stay here in case she wakes up,” Clint said to his companion, and excused himself to take the call.


	32. In Which Lessons are Taught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley doesn't need encouragement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Awesome
> 
> Seriously, I love this kid.

“You’re Loki, huh?”  
  
The mage paused, halfway through the room en-route to the showers.  He blinked down at the child not more than three feet from the door he’d just walked through.  He’d _noticed_ the boy around recently, of course he had.  He knew that Keener had been visiting every weekend, apparently finishing ‘this year’ of school in his regular one before Stark transferred him to a private school.  
  
He just hadn’t expected to be addressed, because surely the Avengers had already warned the lad away from him.  And now he wondered if he should actually respond, or just ignore him.  
  
“Yeah, you’re Loki,” Keener continued with a snort, and picked up the piece of folded and crinkled paper he’d been standing beside.  It was the strangest origami that Loki had ever seen, and resembled nothing he was familiar with.  
  
The boy turned toward the windows after straightening out the tip of the paper, raised it, and threw it gently.  To Loki’s consternation, it actually flew.  Which, he supposed, wasn’t too surprising, if the paper was light enough…  But still, who made origami to float through the air?  
  
“Wanna try?”  
  
Again, the boy was talking to him, and again Loki said nothing.  So Keener walked over and retrieved the flying origami before approaching Loki with it.  He held it up, a silent offer, as hazel eyes searched his face.  
  
Curiously, Loki took it, and mimicked Keener’s motions from earlier.  To his further bemusement, rather than floating gracefully and smoothly upon almost nonexistent air currents, it immediately veered down, and flopped upside down onto the carpet.  
  
Keener smiled, but he didn’t laugh.  He got the origami back up off the floor.  “You threw it wrong,” he said.  “You’ve gotta get a feel for it.  Sort of… let the air take it from your hand.  Like this.”  He demonstrated, and Loki watched closely.  
  
Then the child retrieved it once more and handed it over.  Loki made the motion of throwing it a few times, testing the difference, and finally let it escape his fingers.  He could almost feel the lift that time, and it flew away and up a little before crashing into a window.  
  
The boy laughed joyously.  “Awesome!  You did it!” he cheered, as if Loki were a child that needed encouragement.  Then he turned, eyes twinkling as he grinned up at the Asgardian Prince.  “Okay, so first goal is met.  Next; building your own.”


	33. In Which Loki is the Topic of Debate...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ... and much confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Fly
> 
> Seriously. Really want that baked potato now. I think I'll go get it.

Tony walked into the kitchen around lunch time, looking very concerned as he approached Thor and Steve where they were eating lunch.  “Um.  Okay, this will sound weird…  But I’m really kind of wondering if I’ve lost my mind or someone roofied your brother…  Or replaced him…”  When they both just blinked at him, he drew a deep breath.  “Harley’s teaching Loki how to make and fly paper airplanes.”  
  
A beat of silence followed this pronouncement, before Steve snorted loudly, and Thor’s brow scrunched up in confusion.  “Paper airplanes?  Surely such a thing is unsafe.  It could not possibly hold any…”  
  
He trailed off as Tony and Steve cracked up, and Bruce wandered into the room.  “What are you two giggling about?” the chemist asked.  He quirked a brow as Tony attempted to explain but just ended up cackling some more.  Fortunately Steve managed to wrestle himself under control long enough to tell Bruce what they were laughing at.  
  
To Tony’s surprise, Bruce smiled.  “I suppose you didn’t leave them alone?”  
  
“Oh hell to the fuck no,” the billionaire shot back.  “Logan’s been lurking near them anyway, so…  I’m relatively confident that there won’t be any childish fits of pique that result in Harley turning into wall splatter.”  
  
Thor frowned at that.  “My brother would not harm a child,” he protested.  
  
Tony opened his mouth - Loki didn’t seem too awfully concerned about children the last time he attacked - but Bruce shook his head.  “No, I don’t think he would,” he agreed calmly, and the words popped right out of Tony’s head.  
  
“Wha- you don’t?”  
  
Bruce gave him a dry look.  “No, I don’t.  I mean, don’t get me wrong- I think Loki was going through a bunch of shit back when he attacked New York, but…  Something’s different now.  I can’t explain it.  He seems more in control.”  
  
Beside the mage’s brother, Steve was frowning.  “I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he admitted.  “Do we have any idea what he wants from all this?  He just won’t… leave, but he doesn’t do anything, and I keep wondering what he’s planning.”  
  
Here, Steve looked at Tony, as if he should know because Loki saved his life or something.  Tony just shrugged at him, but Thor looked grim.  “I am not sure myself,” he admitted reluctantly.  “We shall just have to wait and see.”  
  
Tony hated waiting.


	34. In Which She's Just Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint will take care of her, like always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Breaking Down

Natasha returned to the Tower soon enough, Clint hovering over her like a mother hen.  She was moving so slowly, body stiff and expression tired.  She made it as far as the lounge before she trailed to a stop.  
  
Loki stood in the back of the room near the windows, and turned to regard her without expression.  And, for a moment, she met his gaze with the usual fire.  Then she closed her eyes and turned away, shoulders slumping impossibly further.  She wasn’t quite breaking down, but…  she certainly looked like it.  
  
While her partner glanced between them, she walked back to the elevator.  “JARVIS, just bring me up to my apartment level,” she said quietly once the doors closed.  
  
“ _Yes, ma’am_ ,” the AI responded.  “ _Would you like me to have some food delivered_?”  
  
She considered it for a second, and nodded.  “Yeah, probably should.  Thank you.”  She turned her attention back to her partner, who’d slipped through the elevator doors before they could close.  “What?  You’re staring.”  
  
He frowned at her.  “You’re… acting weird.  Weirder than normal.  What was that, back there?”  
  
“I’m just…”  She sighed and rubbed her jaw with a hand.  “I’m just tired.  I don’t feel like dealing with that man.”  
  
Clint couldn’t blame her, really.  “Right.  I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you,” he said, and she gave him a grateful smile.  
  
“Thank you, Clint.”  
  
“Any time.”


	35. In Which Lines are Drawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha makes a truce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Moving Forward
> 
> Yeah, sorry I haven't updated in a while! Been poking at Memories of Waking Nightmares, among other things. >.>;

Natasha didn’t come out for two days, and when she did, she bypassed everyone in the room to stand before a blank-faced Loki.  And she held out a hand.  “I would like to call a truce,” she said, firmly, meeting his gaze.  
  
He lowered his eyes to her hand after a beat, and quirked a brow.  “When he demands you bark, do you obey?  What if he should ask you to kill yourself?” he asked, a sneer cropping up.  
  
But she was uncowed, expression resolute, and hand still hanging between them.  “Fury didn’t tell me to do this.  I’m doing it because the stand still that’s existed between the Avengers and _you_ has gone on long enough.”  She lifted her chin.  “And so I am establishing parameters.  Do you agree to working out a truce?”  
  
A strange, fleeting look appeared on Loki’s face, full of some indescribable emotion.  He stepped forward, into her personal space as the fingers of each hand wrapped around her wrists.  “Think me no fool, Romanoff,” he murmured after a beat, during which they met each other’s gaze.  She had to crane her neck a bit to do it, but appeared unbothered.  Then he turned his hand in hers to take it up, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, a wicked gleam in his eyes.  
  
Natasha swallowed, but her face remained impassive.  “Then we have an agreement?”  
  
“For now, provided things remain as they are,” he said, which was basically the flightiest answer ever.  But no one ever accused the God of Lies as a straight forward person.  
  
“Good.  You will never approach Harley alone, you will never take up arms against the Avengers, or get in the way of their missions, and you will never harm an innocent being on this planet, especially those that are unarmed.  Are my terms clear?”  
  
Loki narrowed his eyes at her, but not in anger.  Rather, in calculation.  He straightened a bit, apparently deciding on an answer for her.  “They are quite clear.  In return, moves against me will not be tolerated, nor will the invasion of my privacy within the room Stark has given me, and if my life is at all in danger, you will see to it that I remain alive.”

Natasha blinked, and tilted her head just slightly.  Her brow furrowed, then smoothed out, and she nodded.  “Those are the terms, then.  Shake on it.”  She again lifted her hand.  
  
For a beat, the god hesitated, face unreadable.  Then he reached back, and shook her hand.


	36. In Which Ice Cream is a Plot Device

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki seeks Bruce's opinion, and it's given freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Vanilla
> 
> Tofu and almond milk smoothies, Pepsi, and maple-frosted cinnamon buns are my dinner. My life rocks.

Clint and Peter were already in the kitchen when Bruce found them, both eating straight out of a tub of vanilla ice cream.  The latter looked up at the Hulk’s entrance and grinned, waving his spoon around.  “Hi, Bruce.  Ice cream?”

Clint smirked, slanting a glance at his current partner-in-mischief.  “We were just comparing Natasha, Pepper and Mary Jane.  Any input?”

With a smile, Bruce shook his head.  “You two are insane.  Batshit.”

“No, no, you misunderstand.  We’re talking fighting specs, not bodies,” Peter quickly inserted, waving his spoon again.  This time, it had ice cream on it, which flew over and splattered.

Onto Loki’s armor.  The two at the breakfast bar froze, expressions torn between, ‘ _Should we be scared right now_ ,’ and ‘ _oh shit megalomaniac_ ’.  Bruce only shook his head again and offered Loki a faint smile.  “Sorry about that, Peter’s a spaz,” he said, getting a paper towel off the roll and offering it.

Loki, meanwhile, had been staring down at the melted confection now on his armor.  He poked it with a finger, sniffed, and licked it.  Clint and Peter were staring at him, the horror and incredulity increasing.  “Hm.  Interesting.”  He finally noticed Bruce’s paper towel and accepted it to clean the treat off.

Peter met Clint’s gaze, both a bit wide-eyed.  They seemed to have a brief, strange exchange between them before they both looked at Loki again.  Loki ignored them and wandered over to stand in Bruce’s vicinity.  Sort of.  “I request sustenance.”

Biting back the urge to snort, Bruce nodded.  “Alright.  Did you feel like anything in particular?”

“I care not.”

In the corner of his eye, Bruce could see the pained look on Clint’s face as he slowly got up.  “Leftover pizza work?”  When Loki nodded, Bruce set to heating said pizza up.

It didn’t take long for Peter to slip out after Clint, and soon enough it was just the two of them.  That was when Loki spoke.  “May I have your opinion on a matter?  The matter of Agent Romanoff’s ‘truce’, specifically.”

The question surprised Bruce.  He’d _expected_ Loki to be suspicious of the offer - hell, they _all_ were - but he hadn’t thought the god would come to _him_ about it.  Tony?  Sure, he could see that- the two of them actually had a lot in common.  Bruce could even vaguely imagine Loki approaching Thor.  They were _brothers_ , after all.

And yes, Bruce had definitely made his attempts at his own unspoken truce with the man, but they hadn’t really been acknowledged.  At least, not until now.

“You want to know what I think?” Bruce asked finally, just to be clear.

Loki only inclined his head, so Bruce sighed and thought about it.  It occurred to him that this might actually be a _test_ of the aforementioned, unspoken truce.  He wouldn’t put it above the trickster.

“Um…  I think… she was probably sent by Fury,” he admitted carefully, watching Loki’s face.  “But I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, or that she meant it any less.  I always have a hard time reading Natasha, but she’s never really given me any reason not to trust her.  She’s a liar, and she can definitely be both overcautious and underhanded.  But I don’t really count any of that as necessarily bad things.”

The Mage tilted his head as he considered Bruce, somewhat curiously.  “I see,” he murmured eventually, frowning slightly.

The microwave _dinged_ and Bruce handed over the plate of leftovers.  “I think it could be a good thing, if you approach it right.”  He smiled at Loki, wandering over to pick up the abandoned carton of ice cream and put it away.  By the time he’d turned around again, Loki was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright- some notes. I have gone and taken out the whole Harley-CPS thing, because frankly I didn't really like that anyway. I have also edited quite a bit of Loki's dialogue through out the drabbles, since I have a bit of a better understanding for his speech patterns now than I did when I wrote them. So. Yay.


	37. In Which Loki is Again Up to No Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There be apples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: Gift, Worry, Unmasked, Forgotten, Scared, Nocturnal
> 
> Dude, I actually started this in November and only just finished it, with the help of the lovely Lyra! Whom actually gave me one of the Steve and Bruce lines to use.

There was a plate of apple slices on the counter in the kitchen.

~.~.~

Clint was feeling restless one afternoon.  He wandered through the rooms of the tower aimlessly, staring around at everything that was theirs, everything they’d accomplished together.

There were battle scars in the Tower; some from enemies, some from friends.  All from battle- preparation or participation.  Occasionally both.

He could see a faint scratch mark peeking out from beneath the carpet in the lounge.  Over on the wall, a rough portion of metal marked a spot spoiled by acid three months ago.  In the hallway, Logan’s claw marks from his scuff with Peter last week were still there.

But the kitchen… the kitchen was pristine.  This was the neutral ground, the place they could sit together without worry of stepping on toes…

Clint sighed and wandered to the fridge.  Nearby, a plate sat with a note on it, and he couldn’t help an amused smile.  It was Peter’s handwriting, declaring simply, ‘ _Don’t touch- I’m saving them for later._ ’

Snatching a golden-skinned slice, he popped it into his mouth and reached into the fridge for the carton of milk.  Time for reminiscing later.  Right now, Clint was thirsty.

~.~.~

Between arguing theoretics with Peter, and teasing Bruce into laughter, Tony somehow wound up making waffles.  He didn’t do this sort of thing _often_.  In fact, he wasn’t really the sort to cook at all, but he knew _how_ to.  Or at least, he could read and follow simple instructions (despite Steve’s inability to believe it).

And anyway, he was starving, so it all worked out.  He didn’t have to wait for food (due to the conveniently placed apple slices on the counter), and he was making a meal for two of the world’s most interesting people besides himself.  Really, it was win-win.

“Stark.”

Oh.  Crap.  Slowly, the billionaire, decked out in apron, turned around to face the man standing in the doorway.  And slowly, as he watched, metal claws slid out of clenched fists.  “Oh my god.  I didn’t do it!”

Logan’s eyes narrowed in anger.  “You slept with her, Stark.  She said so, and I saw it.”

“You were watching-”

“I saw you _leave_ ,” Logan continued, starting towards him.

Tony, second slice of apple in his hand, swallowed and backed away from the stove.  “I had _no idea_ who she was, I swear,” he said as Logan continued to advance.  “And I meant no _harm_ by it-”

“She’s practically my _daughter_ , Stark!”

“She’s twenty four!” Tony added.  “She can make her own decisions!”

“Uh.  Should I come back?”

They both froze and looked over to see Darcy Lewis now in the door, eyes wide as she looked between them.  She was smiling, though, so money bet she found it hot.   _Fangirls_ , Tony thought, relaxing when Logan pulled back his claws.  He strode forward, aiming to walk past Logan, and held up the apple slice with a smirk when he paused just a foot away.

Logan took the slice from him calmly, and bit it in half.  Tony made a mental note to turn on his room security before he slept.

“I’ll be seeing you,” Logan said, so very calmly.

And it looked like Logan wasn’t going to let this go.  Just great.  Tony sauntered past him as if the encounter was forgotten, and left.

In his wake, Logan could feel Darcy’s stare, and sighed as he threw out the rest of the apple slice, annoyed.  “Did you need somethin’, kid?”

“Jane?” Darcy asked back, paling when he turned to look at her.

He glared.  She drew back a little.  “Thor’s suite.”  Deadpan.

Darcy nodded and fled.

~.~.~

The Captain was alone in his room, reading a book.  It was nearly midnight on a Tuesday, and he had nothing to do tomorrow because Tony had decided to blow up his work the last time they fought a villain.  (He swore it was an accident, but Steve wasn’t entirely convinced considering the other man had been whining about ‘not enough bromance time’ before that.)

He heard footsteps in the hall outside, and frowned.  There followed a light rap on the door, and a soft voice.  "You awake? Everyone else is asleep. Sometimes being alone is the best thing in the world for me but sometimes..." Steve could almost hear the shrug, the ripple of shoulders and looking away that he knew referenced the thing Bruce won't say aloud.

The Captain was already unfolding himself from the chair and walking to the door.  He pulled it open and smiled at his friend.  “Sure.  Actually, I’m kind of hungry, want to join me for a kitchen raid?”

“I already feel like a school-boy,” the chemist replied, and if he looked a little too relieved, Steve pretended not to notice.  As they wandered toward the kitchen, the chemist went on.  “Actually, I set out looking for… eh… Loki.  Have you seen him?  He’s been kind of… well, I’d say _missing_ for the last couple days, but JARVIS says he’s still been in the tower.  He just can’t pinpoint his precise current location for whatever reason.”

Steve frowned at that.  “That’s… scary.”

His friend smiled.  “I think he just wants to be left alone.  Sometimes I can sympathize.”  They started up the stairs, since the kitchen was only two floors up.

Having no answer for that, but still concerned, Steve decided it was best to just drop it.  He did, however, make a mental note to keep his eyes open.  Once they reached the kitchen, Steve went to the fridge and started tugging things out for a couple of quick burgers.  Bucky had always loved his burgers.

A crunch behind him turned his head, and he saw that Bruce was munching an apple slice.  “Where did you _get_ that?” he asked, even as his eyes flicked to the plate on the counter.

“I only took one?” Bruce replied innocently.  “Actually, they’re really good.  Not too sweet but not sour either.”  He held one out, as if to say, _Try it_.

For a moment, Steve was having trouble differentiating between Bruce and Tony, because that was the _exact_ expression Tony wore when he was trying to ‘corrupt the Boyscout’.  Huffing out a sigh, the Captain shook his head and finished packing the patties together.  When he glanced back, an amused Bruce was _still_ holding the slice out, and he couldn’t help smiling back.  “You’re trying to make me into a thief, and it won’t work.”

Bruce, in answer, wiggled the apple slice.  He was _definitely_ spending too much time with Tony these days.  “No, Bruce.”  Another wiggle, and Steve turned back to the stove and dropped a patty onto the warming pan.  It started sizzling immediately, to his satisfaction.

His friend, meanwhile, had gotten up and wandered over, sniffing lightly.  He was still holding the apple slice, which - at Steve’s glance - he lifted pointedly.  “You know, I am trying to turn you into a thief.  That would make us cohorts.  They’re _Tony’s_ apple slices.  I saw him eating one earlier.”

Well _that_ made all the difference, didn’t it? Steve mused as he washed his hands.  “You’re a bad influence,” he declared finally, and took the apple slice.

“Hah.  He’s a great influence.  What are we influencing?” Tony asked, wandering into the room looking like he just woke up.

The pair guiltily glanced toward the apple slices.  Tony laughed at their expressions.  “Oh, _those_!  There was a note earlier, saying ‘don’t touch, I’m saving them for later’.  Pete’s handwriting,” he said, amused.  “What, did you nocturnal nutjobs think you were stealing from _me_?  Don’t be ridiculous!  I wouldn’t leave my apple slices out to be stolen.”  He took another of the three left over, munching cheerfully.

Bruce laughed, what little tension had remained in his shoulders fading away.  Tony tended to have that effect on people.  “He’s going to be so mad.  They’re all gone.  Wait- what happened to the note?”

“I threw it out,” Tony replied, eyes twinkling.  “So.  Burgers?”

“BLTs,” Steve corrected.  “Want one?”

“That’s a rhetorical question I hope, ‘cause the answer is ‘duh’,” was the lofty response.

The Captain rolled his eyes.  “Of course it is.”

~.~.~

The morning dawned bright and horrible.  Her bones ached, her skin felt like it’d been rubbed with sandpaper for hours, and her joints were probably coming undone.  But she was home.  She was safe.  Finally.  No one would hurt her here, or face the wrath of the family she’d made in this place.  She no longer needed to be scared.

Stumbling into the elevator, she sank to her butt with her back against the wall, and breathed out.  “JARVIS?  Kitchen…  I need coffee _badly_ ,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

“ _Right away, Agent Romanoff._ ”

“Natasha.   _Please_.  JARVIS, you’re family.  And don’t tell anyone I said that.  Clearly I’m losing my mind,” she muttered, pressing her forehead against her knees.

“ _Clearly_ ,” was the dry response, but he said nothing else for the five minutes it took to get to the kitchen floor.

She could smell coffee brewing as the doors swished open, and it was close.  Lifting her head, she followed the black-clad legs up, up, into blue eyes and blond hair, and, “ _Oh god, I love you_ ,” she breathed, lurching to her feet.

Clint grinned at her, letting her take the mug in his hand, and quickly shoving an apple slice into her mouth after she’d taken a gulp.  “And that’s only a start.  C’mon, into the kitchen.  I’m making you breakfast.  There’s no bacon left, though, because apparently there was a BLT party somewhere around midnight that I wasn’t invited to.”  He sounded upset by that.

Patting his arm as she passed, she swallowed the apple slice and went on swallowing so much coffee.   _So much coffee_.  Oh god, her throat hurt, but _coffee_.

“Lady Natasha,” Thor greeted over his own mug as she entered the kitchen.  He smiled warmly at her and lifted his warm drink in greeting.  “I am pleased to see you have returned.  Were your enemies well-met in battle?”

She eyed him a beat before going to sit next to him as Clint went to the fridge.  “Thor, you’re really weird,” she said flatly.  “And they’re dead, so I guess so.”

He nodded, satisfied, and man her roommates were _so weird_.  “Good.  How fare thee this morn, then?”

“Uhg,” the redhead replied succinctly.  And apparently that was answer enough too.

“I understand, my friend,” he agreed sympathetically.

So, okay, they might be weird, but… damn if she could live without them.  Giving him an one-armed hug, Natasha gulped the rest of her coffee and eyed his.  He moved it out of her reach in response and she smiled, reaching up in her seat to kiss his jaw.  Her attempt to steal it was significantly more successful, and when he realized, he could only stare at her in astonishment, before the booming laughter started.

Natasha grinned and finished _his_ coffee as well.

xXx

Peter wandered in at some point around one in the afternoon, to find a lounge of very guilty-looking Avengers.  He didn’t ask, though he did pause when he realized both Loki and Harley were present, playing with origami in the corner.  The youth glanced up, and then _lit up_.  “I knew it!” he cried ecstatically.

Sighing, the webslinger pulled his half-rolled-up mask down over his face.  “You didn’t see anything,” he said.

“Yes he did,” Logan replied, passing through from the kitchen.  “They ate your apple.”

The younger hero blinked, his whole mask moving with the motion, and watched him leave.  “What apple?”

Tony, in the midst of preparing for verbal abuse, blinked.  “The one on the counter in the kitchen?”

“I left a… what?”  Peter, baffled, went into the kitchen, but all he found was a crumpled note - in _his_ handwriting - and an empty plate.  Apple.   _Apple_.  Why did that sound familiar?  He didn’t leave one _here_ , but…

Oh, there’d been one in the lab, given to him in passing by Bruce.  Frowning, he picked up the note and brought it back out to the lounge.   _Everyone_ was watching him.  Everyone, all of them guilty (except Natasha, who looked weirdly happy).  “Okay, two questions- first; is Natasha high?  Second… who forged this?  I didn’t write it.”

Slowly, cautiously, Steve raised his hand.  “Uhm.  I don’t think so, and I don’t know.  We all thought they were yours, and we ate them thinking it’d be funny, but… uh…  who _did_ put them there.”  Several glances were directed at Tony.

The billionaire’s brows lifted.  “I didn’t do it!” he protested indignantly.

Thor shook his head.  “I do not understand why you are so concerned about an apple,” he admitted.  “Unless it was golden.  Then I would be alarmed.  However, Midgard fortunately has no such apples.”

Seven seconds ticked by.  Clint piped up casually, “Why would a golden apple be worrying, just out of curiosity?”

The blond God smiled at him.  “They are apples of Idunn, a gift of immortality.”

“Imm…”  Tony swallowed, and scratched his jaw.  “And, uh, how much do you have to eat?”

Eying him curiously, Thor just shrugged.  “The whole apple.  Though, a single bite would slow your aging and speed your healing.  So long as it was gifted and not stolen.”

Collectively, they all breathed out sighs of relief.  Except Natasha, who was glaring over her shoulder at Loki.  “They weren’t stolen, were they?” she demanded, tone soft and deadly.

Tugging at the swan he was creating, Loki let it glimmer with magic, and it began flying around on its own.  Harley’s eyes were wide as saucers as they tracked it.  “Naturally, no.  Yours less so than any of the others.”

Thor climbed to his feet and approached his brother with a thunderous expression.  “Brother, what have you done?”

“Oh, you know… made the Avengers immortal?”  Loki smirked at his brother, and faded from sight.


	38. In Which Tony Faces His Greatest Nemesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper doesn't take your shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 1: Horn

Ever since the Tetris incident, Tony has had a profound respect for his girlfriend’s ability to prioritize.  Seriously, she deserved at least a medal, which he’d told her at the time.

However, this… this he’s pretty sure is going to mean she will kill him, meeting priorities bedamned.  Slowly.  It wasn’t his fault, but she will still kill him.  Just to make sure she still could.

“And so apparently that means we’re… yanno.  Immortal, or something.”  He fidgeted under the force of the redhead’s icy stare.

A few seconds passed.  And then a few more.  Tony wondered if she was picturing the same thing he was- that is, Pepper sharpening a knife on a whetstone.  Menacingly.  Holy crap, he has never been so turned on and completely terrified at once before in his life.

“Tony,” Pepper said finally, so quietly, that it sounded like she said ‘Death, Doom and Desiccation’, not his name.

The City Alarm began to blare over their heads, like a horn of salvation and justice.  Without a single moment’s hesitation, Tony jumped to his feet.  “Gotta save the world, love you, bye!” he called, and rushed out of the room.  Screw the meeting he was supposed to be prepping for.  People needed saving.  Right now.

xXx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Azhwi: I have been recruited to assist with posting, that is all. I have had no part in the writing of this fic. All compliments should be addressed to the other two.
> 
> You _will_ be sending them compliments, of course.
> 
> Personally, I'm loving Pepper's quiet threat of pain packed into a single name. Tony'll live. He's immortal now after all.


	39. In Which Pepper Deals a Devastating Blow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Pepper have a chess match. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ker-Fuddled

Loki had disappeared for a few days, while things settled down again. As soon as he reappeared, Barton sidestepped to give Romanoff room to tackle him.  They went down in a jumble of limbs and blows, and the redhead was literally tearing into him in seconds.  They fought for a while, drowning out the sound of Barton’s mastication of some sort of buttered product as he watched, completely obliterating most of the furniture in the lounge.

Stark came in at one point, as Loki managed to send Romanoff crashing into the wall.  “Goddammit,” the genius complained, and left again.

Romanoff got to her feet and they circled, each watching the other carefully.  Loki attacked first this time, but they were shortly interrupted by a shrill tone above their heads.  Both slapped their hands over their ears and looked up, then toward the doors when someone shifted there.

Standing in the door was Stark’s icy-faced woman, glaring right at Loki.  “Loki.  If I could have a word with you, please?  Agent Romanoff, you are free to clean up and relax in your room at any time.”

Warily, he watched the other woman pause briefly, before straightening from her crouch and walking from the room, followed by Barton.  Stark was nowhere in sight, and so the Mage was left alone with the weak human woman.  “I would like an explanation, Loki,” she said softly.  “For the apple.  I’d ask you to sit, but it seems you’ve destroyed everything.  Should we move elsewhere?”

He had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t actually a request, but an indication that that was exactly what they should do.  He nodded.

Potts nodded back and turned, leading him to a conference room three floors down in complete silence.  They both sat down, and she eyed him silently for a little longer.  He watched her back.  “You’re already healing,” she remarked finally.  “So is Tony.  He and Bruce plan on a few tests, but they think maybe he can get the shrapnel removed safely soon.”

Loki eyed her suspiciously, and said nothing.

She considered him in return.  “Why did you do it?” she asked.

He shrugged, well aware that should this woman decide he needed to leave, his welcome would be rescinded.  Which would make his efforts pointless.  Even so, he could not just tell her everything...  Lifting his chin, he affected a lofty tone.  "Entertainment, of course, Ms. Potts.  Why else?"

Hazel eyes narrowed slightly, but the woman nodded.  "Normally, I would accept that, even reach that conclusion myself."  She paused, carefully choosing her words.  "However, circumstances being what they are, I am forced to surmise that not all is what it appears...  As does tend to be the case with you."  Her tone went flat.  "So I'll ask again.  What are you doing, Loki, Son of Laufey, with my Avengers?"

He smiled widely at her, rather enjoying the show of steel.  "If I tell you, I expect something in return..."

Brows arching, she leaned back in her seat.  "If I'm so inclined to give it when you name it, fine."

Oh she was a fine chess player, wasn't she?  "Fair enough.  Your name will do as payment."  How much was she willing to give, he wondered, to keep things safe for her precious Avengers?

Pepper's face remained impassive.  "No."  No hesitation, no confusion or consideration.  Beautiful.

"As you wish," he replied, standing, and turning for the door.

"Loki.  Thank you."

He froze in place, surprise catching voice and breath in his throat.  Then he left, as quickly as he could without appearing to be escaping.  For escaping he was.

xXx


	40. In Which Imagination is Scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers have a meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ker-Fuddled
> 
> Azhwi: Aaaack. Obviously posting while being very tired is befuddling. I accidentally skipped this chapter.
> 
> Sorry for the confusion!

Alright, so there was…  something going on with everyone lately.  Tony suspected it was the same thing going on with himself, in which he went to bed and woke up certain he’d been dreaming really weird shit.  It wasn’t even nightmares.  Nightmares he could handle, they were normal, obnoxious and inconvenient but normal, so whatever.  No, Tony, lately, had been dreaming about… just… really weird shit.

There was one dream in which Pepper was making out with Natasha, and Clint was running around in a chicken suit.  In another, Steve was wearing nothing but an apron (and wow that was scarring) as he walked around the house cleaning up like a maid.  Several other dreams passed in this vein, making Tony just feel a little violated.  Because really?

Anyway, the reason he was sure it was a shared dilemma was because he passed a sleepy Thor one morning, mumbling about being ‘ker-fuddled’.  Tony knew for a fact Thor couldn’t have heard that word anywhere in the tower.  So, he called a meeting.

Once they were all huddled together in one of the conference lounges, with coffee or tea or random blankets (Clint), he nodded.  Natasha was in her PJs, which he suspected meant the apocalypse was en route.  “Okay.  So, this may seem like a weird thing to ask, but anyone that’s dreamed about the randomest shit constantly, to distracting levels, in the last… oh, half week or so, raise your hand,” he announced, thrusting his own arm into the air.

Slowly, every single one of the other Avengers’ hands went up, except Rhodey’s.  When they all looked at him, he grimaced.  “I haven’t actually slept in the last three days,” he admitted.  “Busy.”

“Dude, really?”  Tony gave his friend a disappointed look.  “You’re missing out on naked Cap.”

Steve choked on his mug of tea, and Natasha reached over to pat his back as he tried to hack up a lung.  Clint grinned as he rubbed one eye.  “Your imagination is scary, Tony.”

“Uh.”  Peter blinked at him.  “Why were you dreaming about him naked?”

Rolling his eyes, the billionaire waved the question off.  “More importantly, what are you guys dreaming?  I mean, I’ve got Nat in dominatrix stuff, but that’s pretty standard.  And Clint in random cosplay.”

“Pepper as a teacher,” Bruce mumbled, face a nice red color.  “That’s all I’m admitting to.”

Tony giggled, and pointed at Clint.  “I was shooting red balloons…”  He paused.  “In a chicken suit.”

Huh.  “Weird.”

“No shit.”  The bizarre just got worse as most of them slowly admitted to a few of the details, and it was quite clear that something was up.  Now they just had to figure out what.

xXx


	41. In Which They have a Major Issue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is, again, the turning point of today's predicament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Blizzard, Inebriated

Actually, none of them were too worried about the dream situation until a miniature blizzard took up residence on the 42nd floor.  Thor, through sheer obstinance, managed to surmise that Loki kept getting caught in a dream loop and so couldn’t sleep well.  Before Loki froze him in place and sent him tumbling down the elevator shoot, that was.

Once the Prince was defrosted and set up with blankets and cocoa in the kitchen, Natasha glared at Tony.  “We have to find out what’s causing this.  Or who.  Clint and I are both not getting enough sleep, and if this is Loki’s reaction to the same, I don’t want him to miss out on his beauty rest.”

It was a good point, Tony had to admit.  But how did they fight a problem like lack of sleep?

xXx

Getting drunk, Clint reflected, was a horrible idea.  Unfortunately, it was also the best one he could come up with to help him pass the fuck out.  Though, it wasn’t actually working.  It was just making him into an idiot.

“... and pretty hair, and pretty eyes…  And you have suuuuchhh a preeetttyyy mouth…” he told the other occupant of the room, whom had been studiously ignoring him for a while.  “It’s a shame you’re such a dick.  And I can’t trust you.  Seriously.  You’re soooo preeeetttyyy…”

The door opened behind him, and Clint half fell out of his seat trying to turn and look.  Natasha, newly there, reached down and heaved him to his feet.  “Thanks for notifying me.”

“I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m Loki,” Bruce replied with a faint smile.

“Bruce!” the archer gasped, and tried to shrug off Natasha’s hands without success.  “When’d you get here?”

Bruce’s eyebrows lifted.  “Do you think Loki actually would have stood for the long litany of insults intermixed with blatant flirts?” he asked, tiredly amused.

Clint had to consider that, and as he was, his partner was dragging him out of the room.  “But he was Loki!” he complained to her.

She shook her head in exasperation.  “Clint.  I’m putting you to bed.”

“But…”

xXx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Azhwi: Hmmm... Apparently, copy and pasting from google docs means that all italics are lost.


	42. In Which Pepper Makes a Mistake and Tony Pays for It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dreams are getting worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Honey
> 
> Azhwi: For those who are reading today's posts and scratching their heads... I accidentally skipped chapter 40. I've edited the chapters since Lost notified me. Sorry for any confusion.

The dream thing was apparently an epidemic.  All across the state, people were dreaming the same way, and the dreams were getting steadily darker.  So much so that it was beginning to affect their waking moments as well.  Some would stumble out of their houses, convinced they were still dreaming, and commit crimes they wouldn’t have otherwise done.

A problem which the Avengers had mostly been able to sidestep themselves.  Or so Tony thought, until his girlfriend zombie walked right up to Loki and started making out with him.  Hot as it was, that was about where Tony drew the line and lost it.

He body-slammed the god right out of his chair as soon as Steve swooped in and dragged her off, and they went crashing to the ground.  Unfortunately, enhanced healing and longevity bedamned, Loki was still more than his match.  In no time, his face was shoved up against the carpet by the irate god.  “What is the meaning of this?” was snarled into his ear.

Bruce, honey and camomile forgotten, had moved to some position on Tony’s right.  Somewhere.  “Loki, let him go.  This sleep thing’s got us all a little… tense.  He was just upset ‘cause…”

“Why are they fighting?”  Pepper sounded conscious finally, and horrified.  “Loki, let him go!”

To Tony’s absolute astonishment, Loki did, immediately, backing out of reach with a dark scowl on his face.  Pepper jerked herself out of Steve’s grasp as the inventor rolled to his feet, and went over to check that he wasn’t hurt.  “What happened?  Tony?  How’d I…”

Tony scowled over her shoulder at Loki, and promptly took her face in his hands, kissing her silent.  Pepper melted briefly before smacking his arm so she could pull away.  “Tony?”  She sounded tired and so dazed…

He smirked down at her smugly.  “Don’t worry, Pep.  Just a little disagreement between friends.  Right, Reindeer Games?”

Green eyes narrowed at him, and Loki didn’t deign that with a response, so Tony kissed her again before coming up with as many excuses as it took to get her away from that asshole… it didn’t occur to him until later to wonder if she knew just who she’d been kissing.

xXx


	43. In Which the Avengers Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper is still there when he wakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Nightmare
> 
> Shit's gettin' reeeaaaalll! JK. Lol
> 
> Anyway yeah, I've been off to RL land for a while, but here's an update! In fact, here's three!

_There was nothing in this place.  Silence, and darkness.  No one came.  No one went.  It was only him, limbs fastened to rock, acid **drip drip dripping** down onto his face.  His screaming had long since faded, throat raw and melted.  No one would come to save him, this he knew.  No one cared enough._

_._

_Then he was somewhere else, somewhere drier, warmer, but no less restricted.  They saw him every day.  Watched him behind glass, demanded to know who he was but would not listen to his answers.  They toyed with his Tools like they had the right; he could feel sanity slipping away beyond the walls of his prison.  Worst of all… he was **hungry** …_

_._

_He was in Afghanistan now.  The hot sands whipped up into his face, scoring eyes, nose and throat.  His footsteps stumbled and rolled beneath his weight.  He was free, finally free, but he was going to die in this place.  This awful awful place._

_._

_Running was his only option.  Running, or lingering and screaming.  Screaming as he watched them each die slowly.  Each of **his** victims.  He wanted none of it anymore.  He couldn’t.  He just had to run, to get away from them all, from the blood and the pain…  Just get away.  His brother could have his killing for all he cared._

_._

_This was a nightmare, she knew.  She was having a nightmare that was more than a nightmare.  It was a memory, it was insanity.  It was brainwashing, watching her mother watch her on the sidelines, as in reality they dragged her unconscious body down the hall…  The girl sobbed into her pillow, and waited for the morning._

_._

_“Help me… Peter…”  He couldn’t.  He had to watch him die.  Had to…  Oh god, it was all his fault, wasn’t it?  All of it was on him, all of it, all of it…_

_._

_They fought together, trained together, learned together.  But in the end, it wasn’t enough.  The arrow thunked into his shoulder, ripping through sinew and muscle, and he went tumbling down the hill.  The other never saw him again._

_._

_He’d failed him.  Failed the one person that mattered most.  Now he could only stand and watch as they ripped him limb from limb.  Tearing flesh from bone, draining blood from corpse.  Watching him twist and scream.  Watching his body give out slowly, sink into the slow unmoving chill of death.  “NOOOOO!”_

Pepper sat up in bed when Tony did, already rolling closer to him, hands curling over his shoulders.  “Tony, Tony it’s okay.  It’s okay.  You’re safe, you’re fine.  You’re home.  It’s okay,” she murmured, steadfastly, until the whimpering faded to stunned silence, and his face buried in her shoulder stopped leaking.  She rubbed his back soothingly, and didn’t let him go.  She would never let him go again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the read! Please comment!


	44. In Which We Have Some Grim Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers are at their wits end, but not all is lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Firestorm
> 
> See? Two updates! In a row! It's my way of apologizing for not updating for so long.

They were all gathered half heartedly together in the kitchen, poking at food or coffee, or some other consumable, and avoiding looking at each other.  Even Loki, most likely to start snarling at someone for invading his space, and Tony-the-chatter-box were both staring down into their respective mugs with closed expressions.

Finally Wolverine exhaled and sat back.  "I can't keep this shit up," he declared, scowling, and got up.

Tony blinked after him.  "Where are you going?"

"I know a guy," the mutant shot over his shoulder.

Loki frowned.  "As do I..."

Natasha quirked a brow.  "You going to find him?"

The Mage shook his head, eying the Avengers.  He finally pointed at Peter.  "You must accompany me.  I will need your assistance in persuading him to help me..."

Spiderman blinked groggily, but pushed away from the table.  "Fine but we're stopping at home first.  Gotta get my other suit."

Once the pair was gone, Natasha got up with a muttered explanation involving helping Wolverine, and the kitchen lapsed into silence again.  Clint sneezed after a beat, looking miserable.

Tony couldn't really do anything useful, so he tried a nap.  The storm was bound to come to their door soon, and he wanted to at least try to get some rest before the fires flared.


	45. In Which We Have a Few Missed Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Loki fight a nameless terror in the Dreamscape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lacerate.
> 
> There! Three updates! Huzzah!

The darkness around them was screaming, and it sent shivers down Peter's spine to hear it.  Beside him, Loki walked, unruffled.  "How do you stand it?" the hero demanded uneasily.

Green eyes slanted his way briefly.  "It is a familiar sound," he responded vaguely, and Peter wasn't sure how to take the absent-mindedness of that answer.  "Be on your guard.  The mistress of this place and I are not allies."

"You didn't think to tell me _before_ that you were bringing me into enemy territory?" the Spider-man hissed accusingly.

Loki sneered, but before he could respond, something shot from the gloom around them to puncture Loki's armor.  He grunted with the impact as a following howl lacerated the darkness.

"Loki, are you okay?" Peter yelped, already alarmed.  Why hadn't he sensed that coming?

The God snarled.  "Nevermind me.  Pay attention- injury in the Dreamscape is injury in life as well!"

_Oh great, **now** he tells me_ , Peter groused inwardly, but moved into a defensive position over his ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be kind and comment! Let me know what you think of this arc so far!


	46. In Which We Have Gambit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because Natasha is terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Important Equipment.
> 
> Everyone knows about my crush, right? >.>;

The couple walked into the bar, a gorgeous redhead in a slinky dress, on the arm of an incongruously burly man in jeans and leather.  Gambit didn't like it, especially since he knew the guy and not the girl.

"Welcome to my neck of the woods," he greeted loudly as they approached him.  "What's a girl like you doin' with this old man, eh?  Come sit with Gambit, I'll show you a much better time."

Her red rouged lips pulled apart to reveal pearly whites, but her green eyes met his.  They crinkled at the corners, he noticed.  Fishy.  "Hello, Gambit.  I've heard a lot."  She offered a hand, and he noted calluses when he took it.  Instead of a shake, the mutant brushed a kiss over her knuckles.  "All of it good, I promise."

He quelled a grin as they sat, then looked to Wolverine.  "Well?  What do you want from Gambit today, friend?"

The X-Man looked unimpressed.  "A dream witch."

Red struck like a viper when he tried to get up, a blade abruptly pinning his jacket sleeve to the table.  His eyes went wide.  "Cher, my jacket!  This was expensive!" he exclaimed, appalled.

She smiled again.  "For who?"

Touche.  He pouted at her.  "Who _are_ you, scary Red?"

"Natasha Romanoff.  It's a pleasure," she purred, and he felt the blood drain from his face.

After a brief litany of French curses, he sat back, eying his jacket sleeve mournfully.  "Alright, I'll help you.  But first, you gotta pick up a few supplies."


	47. In Which We Have an Aborted Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony flees in his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Wail
> 
> This arc is long. I know. Hope you're enjoying it!

_He could feel someone watching, could see their shadow if he wasn't looking.  He wanted to get away, but no matter where he turned, they were there, in the corner of his eye.  Following.  Searching._

_Tony stumbled through walls that weren't there, into a dissolving cavern.  Someone sat against a wall, arms curled around her knees and head lowered.  "Hey...  Hey, you okay?"_

_Dark eyes lifted, and she sniffled.  "Mr. Stark...?"_

_He blinked.  "Jane Foster?"_

_"I can't get out...  Help me, Mr. Stark...  Help!"_

_He reached out, but the cave was breaking apart.  She wailed in despair._

_" **Anthony**."_

_He was back.  Tony looked over his shoulder toward the ominous shape.  He ran again._

_And again._

_And again._

He woke screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make me happy. Just sayin'


	48. In Which Darcy Can't Take the Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor begs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Muse
> 
> What, your heart? Mine too, I understand completely.

Thor sat beside her bed, the steady droning of the human life support machine in his ear.  He held her limp hand between his, staring at her soberly.  Somewhere behind him, Darcy was trying not to let him hear her sobs, stifling them with an arm.

"Wake up, Jane," he whispered.  "Please."  Perhaps if he asked enough, was here enough...  "Please...  You are my heart, my soul, my muse...   _Please_."

The door slammed as Darcy escaped with a loud whimper, and Thor lowered blue eyes in shame.  He leaned his head against her shoulder as the heartbeat pulsed in time with its monitor, and Jane did not wake.


	49. In Which We Have Bad Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They gotta stay awake somehow, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Jumble
> 
> Yeaaahh... >.>; my version of Tony seems to... *coughs* Really like his Avengers. REALLY.

Clint startled awake after only a brief moment to find Tony, rings around his eyes, stumbling into the kitchen.  "Coffee?" the billionaire mumbled.

Clint grunted an affirmative.

" _Sir, I would advise against caffeine, my readings indicate that-_ "

"Mute," Tony mumbled around a yawn.  "Don't care, JARVIS.  Can't sleep.  Nightmares."

"You too?" Clint asked as he gratefully accepted a mug.  He stretched, barely noting Tony's exhausted nod.  The archer leaned back and chugged the coffee down.  "Shower, I think..."

Tony glanced up at him.  Paused as the archer started out of the room.  "Want company?"

Freezing, Clint wasted a second wondering if he heard that right.  He also wondered if he was having another weird dream, because waking-him surely wouldn't feel this strange jumble of emotions... right?  "As in...?" he asked decisively, turning back.

"You, me, shower, sex," Tony replied bluntly.

Yeah, he heard it right.  "C'mon then," the blond declared, smirking.


	50. In Which Natasha Hates Swamps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha and Wolverine look for the first ingredient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Zephyr
> 
> Dun, dun, dun, dun, and another one bites the dust! And another one down, and another down...

The mud beneath her feet pulled her down like a suction cup, clinging to her heels with each step.  They'd been at this for the better part of an hour already, and had yet to find the proper tree knot.  Gambit had said it would be in a dead tree with five limbs, between two living trees, in a swamp.  A fucking swamp.

"This place reeks," Wolverine grunted tiredly.

Natasha could concur.  It smelled like water and soil and dying things.  He probably detected more, even.  "Maybe we need to find another swamp," she murmured, knowing he could hear her.

He grunted.  "Maybe."

Still, they continued picking their way through, pausing only once when Wolverine's foot got stuck in deep.  As they trudged through the gloomy land, a light breeze managed to make its way past the trees, tossing Natasha's hair into her face and rustling the branches above them.  Ahead, she caught sight of a gnarled tree that had been split right down the middle and burned some time ago.

Quickening her steps, she drew closer and counted the branches.  "Five.  We've found it, Logan!"

There was a splash behind her, and she whirled around, eyes searching.  Wolverine was face down in the mud about fifteen feet away, unmoving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment?


	51. In Which Darcy Gets a Little Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is the ultimate drink chaperon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Chilli
> 
> Darcy is also a favorite of mine...

The brunette appeared sometime around eight in the evening, eyes red and voice choked as she sobbed about Jane being in a coma.  Steve couldn't, in good conscience, turn her away, so he invited her in for something to eat.  Tony and Clint had disappeared earlier anyway, and he was having issues keeping awake.  Sniffling, Darcy Lewis followed him to the kitchen.

"Chilli okay?" he asked as he eyed the left overs in the fridge.

Darcy nodded.  "Y-yeah.  Thanks, Captain....  I'm sorry to be bothering you like this, but I don't-"

He shook his head.  "No, stop.  It's fine, Miss Lewis, I'm happy to help in any way I can."

She was quiet a few minutes.  "Do you have Vodka?" she asked bluntly.

Steve blinked, and smiled.  "I think Tony has a stash somewhere..."  He started going through the cupboards, until he found a bottle of whiskey hidden behind the cheerios.  He turned and held it up.  "This okay?"

She smiled at him wanly and nodded.  "That works."

An hour later, he was sitting with a very drunk, very giggly young woman that kept trying to grope him.  Tony strode into the room with a towel draped around his shoulders.  He quirked a brow at them.  "Why Cap, I didn't know you liked your girls drunk!"

Steve felt heat creeping up his neck.  Before he could retort, Darcy spoke up.  "Oh my god, hi Iron Man, I'm like a huge fan!  And you're hot.  Like way hot."

Tony smirked as Steve turned his gaze on Darcy.  "Okay, that's enough liquor for you," he declared, taking the half empty bottle away from her.

"Hey!" she yelped, as Tony dove for the bottle with a growled, "That's mine!"

Steve let him take it.  "I'll, uh, just start some coffee, I think."

Though Tony glared, and Darcy pouted, neither protested.


	52. In Which Natasha Meets a Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or, In Which Gambit's Really Testing His Boundaries...
> 
> Gambit brings forth the Dream Witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Lissome
> 
> I've been gone for a while... Heh. Sorry 'bout that. But I have a computer again, so (hopefully?) more frequent updates! Fair warning, I AM a starving college student...

The lissome woman of his dominatrix dreams returned, alone, the next morning, and threw a paper bag onto his table.  His date scowled briefly, green eyes narrowing.  "I'll leave you to your meeting, dear," she declared, dropping a kiss to his cheek as she rose.

"Later, Love," he drawled, watching the sway of her hips as she departed for the bar.

Romanoff sat across from him.  "There's your ingredients.  Call the witch."

He eyed her with an arched brow.  "Where's Wolverine, Cher?  I don't feel comfortable dealing with, er, you.  No offense."

"Offense taken," she snapped, then exhaled harshly.  "He collapsed in the swamp, and won't wake up.  This damn sleep thing is..."  She pressed her lips together briefly.  "Please, Gambit, call your dream witch.  I need this to be settled."

Gambit chewed on the inside of his cheek as he considered the news.  Actually, he was very worried.  If Wolverine had fallen to this too, what did that mean for the rest of them?  "I can't guarantee she'll be able to help, Cher, but she's here."  He turned his head, searching their surroundings for familiar dark blue hair.  "Dream!  Over here, Lady!  Got a visitor for ya!"

The petite, slender woman rose and approached, black eyes focusing on the redhead as she did.  She halted by the table.  "Romanova.  I am Dream.  Gambit tells me you have a request for me."


	53. In Which a Shadow Looms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Loki are still searching for Loki's acquaintance.
> 
> Prompt: Incomprehensible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been forever. Life... Kind of got away from me.

For a while, Loki drifted in the void.  It was dark, an incomprehensible emptiness that lacked sensation and weight.  He couldn't remember where he was, or what he'd been doing, and more than anything, he wanted to stay right there, where he was.  Just...

" **_Loki_ ** ."

No.  Where was he?  The Dreamscape.  With... an ally?  The Spiderman.

Opening his eyes was a challenge, but he managed it, looking up into...  "...you are far too close for your physical safety."  Was that truly his voice?  It was surely too coarse, faint.  His throat ached, feeling rough with lack of moisture.

Above him, Spiderman jerked back like he'd been slapped, white eyeholes narrowing.  "Glad to know you're still an ass."

Loki swallowed as he slowly sat up, with the other’s aid.  "I'm ever so delighted to be adequate entertainment."  That sounded better.  "What happened?"

"You just sorta... froze.  Whatever shot at us is gone... I think."  He rose to his feet.  "Are you okay?"

He felt alright, certainly.  "Yes.  That was not Iffyg, however."  His eyes darted around them, but he could see no one, and so he accepted Spiderman's hand up.

"Who's Iffyg?" the mortal asked warily.

"The Vanir witch we have come to beseech," Loki replied dryly.  "However, that must wait.  We are not alone.  Somewhere, someone is watching us..."

" **Loki...** "

As one, they stiffened, and slowly turned toward the looming shadow behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man and their characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Stan Lee, Marvel, and all associated thus. I am responsible for creating the situation, and the storyline only. Please do not take and use or post elsewhere without my express permission. Thank you.


End file.
